The Richards
by Acqua Leaf
Summary: Something is very familiar about Edward's new friends. They have gold eyes, gold hair, a bit of a temper, and have a secret agenda. The Richards and Fullmetal have a lot in common. Time Travel Fanfic
1. Meet the Richards

**The Richards**

Meeting the Richards

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 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.

* * *

Golden eyes gazed upon a simple house. The sky had darken since he began his search for the secretive civilian. Edward checked the windows. A curtain was covering the inner corridors, great, that meant that he could not simply peek inside of the house to see if he live there. With a quick sweep of the front of it, Edward realized that the house did not have any numbers on the front. Very interesting and suspicious. A satisfied grin ran across his face. He think he found him.

The alchemist march up to the front door. An urge swept over him to finish his search so he could focus on other issues. He should be in a library or a lab researching and studying new alchemical strategies to help his brother. Instead, he is tracking down a chef that gave him the cold shoulder yesterday. Has he gone crazy? It is not like him to obsess, okay, it IS like him to obsess over an unanswered question. But, this is a new low. Stalking a random citizen like this. It is absurd. Some 'hero of the people' he is. Still, he could not afford to lose any concentration on this small matter. It is just one person.

Edward breathed in hard while he form a fist. Then, he pounded the door three times. He wanted to get this over with. There was an eerily silence. It was not that late. Someone has to be up. No, he did not do all of this for nothing. Low, muffled sounds came from behind the door. Edward did his best to keep a straight face and step back. This is going to be a strange confrontation.

The door swung open to reveal a tall, young man that appear to be in his mid-twenties. Edward swallowed a rant as he watch the man glaze over his head. It gave him a chance to look at him. Suddenly, he remember why he track this guy down. The guy looks JUST LIKE HIM. Gold hair. Gold eyes. Even his hairstyle look similar to his own. If his hair had a long braid, he could pass as the Fullmetal Alchemist.

Edward fume at that thought. What the fuck is going on here? Who the fuck is this? The blond man glance down to meet Edward's glare. He instantly made a startled face. Now, Edward is fighting the urge to laugh at the stranger. This is supposed to be serious, dammit. The blond man stood there stagger and contemplating what he is going to say. It is written all over his face.

"Brother?"

Another voice came from the dark house. Edward studied the man's reaction. His face whiten and his eyes widen as he suck in air. "You have a brother?" The alchemist's curiosity peaking. A quick nod was his answer.

"Brother, who is it?" The voice is closing in.

A figure appeared behind the first person. Light gold hair peeked around the shoulder of the older brother. His eyes were a warmer shade of gold then his hair. The unknown person seems to be shorter, but he had to look down to see Edward. When he finally saw their uninvited guest, his jaw fell open. His brother had to close his jaw for him and it snap him out of his state of shock.

The younger brother jabbed his brother's arm. "Brother, don't be rude, invite him in,"

Are all younger brothers like that? Edward thought to himself. Wait, did he just compare him to Alphonse?

"S-sorry. My brother does not have good people skills." Another comparison. "You're the Fullmetal Alchemist, right? Please come in." The younger brother nervously gestured his hands inside.

Fullmetal glances at the older brother who was lost in thought. He gave a polite smile and thank you as he entered the house. Something is strange about their house. There is a three simple couches in the front room, a small kitchen to the left and a doorway that should lead to the bedrooms. No pictures, personal belongings, or anything that would indicate people live here. It almost looks like an empty military dorm.

"Uh, Edward?"

Edward snapped out of his thoughts and faced the nervous brothers. "What are you doing here?"

Good question. It is unusual for military personnel to stop by a random civilian's house. They probably fear the worst; judging by their expressions. Thankfully, Edward had a ready excuse. He crossed his arms as he started his lie, "I am here on official military mission to investigate suspicious behavior."

Edward used a stern tone when he said that. He could not tell them that he tracked the older brother to this address, because of his cooking and he looks just like him.

The two brothers shared a questionable look before they both sighed. "Suspicious behavior?" They repeated his words like they knew he had lied.

The alchemist's arms tightened as he frowned. Something is going on here and he is there to find out. He glared at them to get his point across. "Yes. What are your names?"

Edward doubled blinked as he studied their reactions. They look like young kids that was just caught doing something that they were not supposed to do. That's odd. Why can he picture them as kids?

The older brother spook up. "I'm Eric Richard and this is my younger brother, Nicholas Richard."

That was a lie. That statement sounded like it was rehearsed. There was a hint of hesitance in his voice. Edward narrowed his eyes. They did not need to lie about their names. They're obviously not hard criminals. Another theory crossed Edward's mind. He tried to dismiss it. It was ridiculous, childish to consider and utterly impossible, but it explained everything. For the first in his life Edward questioned his own sanity.

Eric and Nicholas plopped on one of the couches. They knew what was about to happen and they were prepared for it. Edward remained standing as he began his interrogation.

"Who are you? "

"We told you."

"When did you come here?"

"We moved here a few months ago."

"Why are you here?"

"We moved for work."

"Where did you come from?"

"A neighboring city."

"Why did you come here?"

"We're on vacation."

Vacation? Vacation from what? He just saw Eric at a job yesterday. That does not make any sense. This does not make any sense. Both of them had gold eyes. Only his family had gold eyes. They could be lost relatives; sounds more plausible then the first theory. No, that's not it.

"Mind if I look around?" Edward did not give them a chance to respond to that. He turned swiftly and strutted away. The two watched the red and gold retreating figure. When he disappeared into the hallway and out of earshot, Eric asked, "Where's Sara?"

Fullmetal thought over the answers that those two gave. It was obviously a set up. The two took turns answering the questions without any clarity from the other and their response was too quick. The answers did not give any specifics of their background. That interrogation was pointless; continuing it would have been a waste of time. Time for another approach.

The hallway was as empty as the front of the house. Honestly, how did two guys live here for several months? He opened the first door in the hall. It revealed a room with two beds and a closet, that's it. Wait, there is a window. He closed the bedroom door and checked the hallway's entrance; no one was there. Usually people watch him when he is searching their house. These guys are weird. Edward dashed past one door that was slightly opened. That was only a bathroom, besides the closed door is more interesting.

He was not sure what he would find in there, hopefully something that answered the questions that was forming rapidly in his head. The fifteen-year-old was not expecting to see the bare back of a young, blonde woman. She immediately became aware of an unknown presence and shot Edward an intense glare over her shoulder. The alchemist's eyes darted to the floor in embarrassment and shame, he stuttered an apology, and closed the door. Any other female in his life would scold and beat him for pulling a stunt like that. He did not mean to; it was truly an accident. Fear rose in the young teenager when he heard his name being called.

When Fullmetal bowed his head, he did not notice the woman's glare evaporated when she saw him. She had a bewildered look on her face when she noticed Edward. Somehow she lost her voice and could not introduce herself. It was only after the young alchemist left when she realized that she was topless. The blonde woman cursed herself for taking too long to dress and started to frantically search for something, anything, to cover herself. She hoped she did not miss her chance to meet the Fullmetal Alchemist. Maybe calling him will help.

Screeching Edward's name only made him panic. He backed away from the bedroom door, swiveled and bolted towards the nearest exit. Edward would have made it out the hallway if Eric have not been running towards the hall's doorway. The two stopped in middash and took a step back; nearly mirroring each other.

The woman in the back called for Edward's name. Did he just respond to... The sounds of rapid footsteps from behind startled him and he could not finish that thought. He had another matter to address. Edward cautiously turn to look at woman he peeped on by accident. He could not tell if the wide grin on her face was kindly or menacing.

"Edward," she lowly muttered through her grin.

Edward made have his pride, but he know when to admit defeat. He through his hands up in defensively and tried to explain himself. The unnamed woman gave a puzzled look before stopping him, "Don't apologize. I'm not mad at you. I never could be mad at you."

She paused take a good look at Edward. Her grin grew wide, her arms crossed on her chest and she started to jump up and down cheerfully. A loud squeal escaped her. Edward stood there feeling a little helpless. There was no escaping a crazed fangirl.

"Was that Sara?" Nicholas's voice cut through the awkward atmosphere.

"Yeah," Eric answered slowly. "Edward, this is my little sister."

After Sara glared at the two blondes, she turned her attention to the shorter one. He had his hands up for self defense; guess he did not believe that she already forgave him. Curiosity sweeped over her as she focused on Fullmetal's right hand. The sleeve hung down revealing a dark gray wrist.

"Uh, Edward, shouldn't you be busy... doing something else?"

Edward noticed her sudden deflation. He followed her gaze to his right arm and let his arms fall to his side. Edward's absurd theory is verifying itself every second he spends with the Richards. Edward sighed as he wondered how explain this one to the office or Alphonse or _himself._

"You're right," Edward faced the front door and marched towards it. Half through the living room, he glanced back at the Richards once more. All three was watching him with blank, frozen faces. Edward frowned in response and pointed a finger at them, "And I am not done investing here, I will be back."

The three blondes did not move or blink. Fullmetal did not wait for a farewell and he doubt he will get one. The Richards watched the door for a few minutes to make sure Edward was gone.

"Did he just say you were right?" Nicholas is usually the first to speak up.

"I know. It's weird." Sara responded quickly and was happy that they were thinking the same thing.

"Sure, _that's_ weird." Typical of the eldest brother, he is only one who was analyzing the seriousness of their situation.

Sara rolled her eyes. "Look, we knew this could happen. There's nothing we can do now. Just don't admit to anything."

"He used to be so short."

The two older siblings faced Nicholas. He was obviously not paying attention. To anything.

"Don't say that around him, Nick." Sara warned. She did not want to offend Fullmetal in any way. He is too adorable.

"I'm going to bed," Eric announced and headed to his bedroom.

"Not a bad idea." Sara agreed. Nick yawned too, that was intense.


	2. Hugs & Chocolate

**I am not giving up on this story. I made a promise to BlueTeller to continue the story and I honor my promises. Anyway. enjoy.**

 _ **A. Leaf**_

* * *

 **The Richards**

Ch. 2 Hugs & Chocolate

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 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.

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It was eight in the morning, when Edward returned to the Richards's home. He did not bother to knock or use the front door, just climbed through the window. It _was_ opened. He checked the front room for any blondes; no one was there. Edward felt a little relief that they did not see him break into their house, but they might ask.

He slowly walked past the couches to the oak wood dining table in the right corner. Then he slid into a seat, placed an alchemical theory book on the table and started to flip through it. He forgot that he had the book when he left his dorm room. If he tried to return it, he would run into Al and explain where he was going. He already managed to slip away from him once; he did not want to push his luck. Besides, this visit is strictly business, right? Al does not need know about the Richards, yet.

It was a good thing that Edward has the book now **.** He is not going to check on the Richards while they are in their bedrooms. Edward snapped his head up when he heard a soft noise. He found a sleepy Eric staring back at him. He was wearing a light blue pajama shirt and pants and his gold hair was pushed down from laying on it. Eric blinked twice at the state alchemist and he did not look surprised to see him there.

"Morning," Eric said through a yawn.

"Morning," Edward watched him carefully. He seemed more relax this time.

"What are you doing here, Edward?"

 _Straight to the point, fine,_ Edward thought to himself. "Remember? I'm conducting an investigation."

"You're reading a book." Eric retorted right after he finished that sentence.

"You're working in the middle of your vacation." Edward retorted back just as fast.

Eric stopped to consider what to say next and could not think of anything. Explaining that would reveal too much and had to think of a lie. But Eric knows who he is dealing with; Edward will not stop to until he gets the truth.

"Fair enough," Eric shrugged it off. He is not going to fight with Fullmetal. "Well, do you have to observe me making coffee?" But, he can distract him.

Since Eric mentioned coffee, Edward remembered that he did not eat breakfast that morning. His hunger was starting to take effect on his body. He is not going to admit it, not now. Edward slumped into his seat as Eric went to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. Eric could not help smirking at himself, because his little ploy worked. When the pot was finished, he quickly poured himself a cup. Then he wondered about the oddly quiet Edward Elric in the other room.

"Do you drink coffee yet?" Eric asked out loud, not realizing what he said.

"Yes," Edward perked up a little at the offer. "What do you mean by 'yet'?"

"I mean you're too young to drink coffee." Eric placed a cup in front of Edward's book.

"Am not," Edward grabbed the cup and started to drink it, annoyed. Eric only started to sip his own cup. Edward's temper amazed him.

"Morning," a female voice echoed the empty room.

Fullmetal looked up from his cup to see Sara watching him. She was wearing a faded pink bath robe and was adjusting it cover herself. Edward froze under her gaze. He could not shake the feeling to run. Sara's gold eyes quickly darted to Eric's face.

"Shut up," she scowled at him.

"I didn't say anything." Eric said defensibly.

"You were thinking it." Sara responded darkly.

Edward watched the two siblings fight over Sara's ability to read Eric's thoughts. It was refreshing to not be in an argument for once. Watching them bicker reminded him of something, he could not figure out what.

Loud stomping broke him out of his thoughts. Ed found Eric sitting across from him with a satisfied grin on his face. "What was that about?" He wanted to explain that look on his face.

Eric shook his head, "It's nothing. Just take your time with your investigation." And if that means Sara would put some clothes on for once, by all means stay as much as you want.

"Right." Edward decided to drop it and started to flip through the alchemy book.

"What time is it?" Eric suddenly asked.

"Just past eight," The alchemist absentmindedly replied.

Eric's head shot up. "Oh, if you would excuse me, I have to go wake Nick up." He said that so politely that it was suspicious.

Edward did not see Eric leave the table. Seconds later, a loud thud made Edward jump. It was immediately followed by an equally loud rant. He barely recognized Nicholas's voice, since it was so strained. Edward gripped the edges of the book and held his breath; he was trying his best not to start laughing.

* * *

After a week of investing, here's what he found out. They told him a simple backstory; parents are alive and well, grew up in a small town, and they're splitting the cost of rent. Eric is clearly the oldest of the three and he works in a local restaurant in the kitchen. Sara and Nicholas are working part-time at a theater. He is not sure what they are doing there. He should make a note to visit them at work. Also, Nicholas is taking a few advance classes at a nearby college. Edward had a hard-time believing that, because Nicholas looks like a teenager. He needs to make another note about that.

It has been a long week and he managed to keep the Richards' existence a secret from everyone. He would pick a quick fight with Alphonse and slip away. Then he would come back an hour or two later and apologize for whatever he did or said. Al may be figuring it out what he is doing. Last night, Al just waved him off and told him, "Just go."

Great, he cannot hide them forever, but does not want to introduce the Richards to anyone. Alphonse doesn't need to know about them yet. Not until he figures out whom they are first. Or he just wants to prove his first theory about them wrong.

Edward stood in the empty hallway gazed; it was a weird night. He took a few breaths to calm himself and pushed open the brass door. He looked up to see the Mustang's team of subordinates working quietly at their desks. No one glanced up to look at Edward. That's good. He did not want to draw any attention to himself anyway.

He darted to the other side of the office, right to Riza's desk. Riza sensed something in her presence. She jumped when she saw how close Edward was to her. She didn't hear him come in. Riza smiled warmly and greeted him, "Good morning, Edward."

Riza examined Edward's expression thoughtfully, because she did not recognize it and he looked a little flushed. "Uh, Riza" Ed paused to look down embarrassed. After a moment, he continued, ""how do you know when someone is mad at you?"

Riza sighed in relief. Edward and Alphonse must be arguing again. She thought of the simplest solution to most of the Elric conflicts, "You two should talk about what's bothering you."

Edward shook his head in response, "I tried asking, but she insisted that it was nothing."

With the single word, "she", Edward managed to grab the attention of everyone in the office. Their eyes darted over to Edward all at once. Edward was unaware of that he became the center of attention, he solely focused on Riza and one one else.

Edward continued his explanation, "Besides, she said that she could never be mad at me, but I think I upset her and she wouldn't tell me why."

With that statement, Winry was automatically eliminated from the list of girls he could be talking about. Edward was talking about a new girl and one he cares about. Interesting.

Jean rose from his desk and stealthily walked over to Riza's desk. "Edward, there is always the possibly that…she was feeling under the weather and acting weird."

Edward thought about Sara's actions in the past few days, her behavior did change slightly. "No, she was in pain earlier, but all she wanted was chocolate."

Jean froze when he realized the problem. Riza was speechless. Falman and Fuery stared down as they made faces to their desks. Breda decided to speak up, "Edward, this is very important," Edward turned to face him, and he continued "did you give her chocolate?"

Ed was taken aback by the simplicity of the question, but he answered the question "Yeah"

"That is all that matters, Edward." Jean tried to reassure him, "So, what's her name?"

"Sara," Edward could picture her right in front of him.

Jean scribbled the name down on a notepad, "Mhmm-hmm, last name?"

 _That's debatable,_ Edward thought to himself. Jean saw that Edward was out of it, "Ed, what's your girlfriend's last name?"

"Girlfriend?" Ed heard that. His voice and his impatience was rose sharply, "She is not my girlfriend!"

"Hey, hey, hey, I only want to make sure of your safety," _and learn everything about her._ He managed not to say the last part.

"I'm perfectly safe around her," Edward growled. "I am capable to detect danger a mile away."

"Brother?" Al finally stood up from his hiding spot. He gathered enough information to explain Edward's strange behavior for the past week. Al tried his best not to yell at him right now, he should save that for later.

Edward was startled when Al spoke up. He did not know he was even in the room. How could he miss Al's armor? _Uh-oh,_ Edward did not have a ready excuse for vanishing yesterday and he is pretty sure Al was eavesdropping the entire time.

Al had a million questions in his head. He started with the most basic one. "How are you, Brother?"

Ed knew this was a set-up. "I'm fine don't you want to ask about Sara?"

"No," Al had a better question in mind, "Where were you last night? You had me worried."

The room filled with sound of five people slowly gasping. They held their breath as they watch Edward's face. His face was in frozen in shock just like the rest of them.

"Edward, you didn't!" Riza stood up from her chair with her hands on her desk to support her. It's hard to believe that what Al was suggesting.

"NO!" Ed's face went red, "IT IS NOT LIKE THAT! Sara's a… a…" he was tripping over the right word. He couldn't explain it now. How could he?

"Can I meet her?" Al retorted.

"Huh," That was all Edward could think to say.

"I want to meet her, too." Havoc waved his hand near his head.

"Me, three,"

"Me, four,"

"Just bring her here, Edward." Jean suggested cheerfully.

"No! No! No! No!" Edward pointed at Havoc, Falman, Fuery, and Breda when he told them no.

"Fine, Fine, just me her last name." Havoc had his pen to paper ready to search and find the mysterious Sara.

"You can't track her down without a reason." Edward knew the irony in his words. He really just does not want anyone to know about the Richards just yet.

"What about me, Brother?" Al asked innocently.

Edward did feel guilty for keeping a secret from him, even something like this. "Sure, Al. Just don't ask if she is my girlfriend."

Al rose one of iron hands and swore that he will not do that. Al had one more thing he _had_ to ask while they were still in front of everybody, "So Brother, do you also give Sara hugs, too?"

Edward winced at the question and replied with, "No more questions out of you."

Al got his answer, but no one else did. "Do you, Ed?" Havoc's teasing voice did not go away.

"It…" Edward could not believe his is saying this, "It calms her down."

Havoc raised an eyebrow. "It calms _her_ down?"

"Yes," Edward was done with this conversation. He regretted ever bringing Sara up in the office. He should have known this would have happened.

"Awww, little Ed has a little girlfriend."

"Who are you calling a tiny little beansprout?!" Ah, the day did not officially start without one of Fullmetal's rants ringing in your ears.

To Edward's surprise, the room burst into laughter. He did not deny his girlfriend that time.

* * *

 **A/N: So, I basically summarized about a week's worth of fluff. They did their best to blend into society, but that didn't work with their features.**

 **I wanted to get the plot rolling and I wanted Edward to connect with the Richards before anyone else knew about them, even Al. And a little spoiler alert for the next chapter, there is one more "Richard" that Edward has to met before he introduces them Al. Her character will show up next time.**

 **Also, feel free to pm me for suggestions. I'm open to it.**

 _ **A. Leaf**_


	3. Proof of Existence

**A/N: New character is bilingual. Any italicized words in quotations is another language. ex.** " _Xingese_ "

 ** _A. Leaf_**

* * *

 **The Richards**

Ch. 3 Proof of Existence

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The eldest Richard stumbled into the living room. He did not immediately spot the colors red or gold, that's a good sign. He did notice his new house-guest. She was sprawled out on the longest couch with her long jet black braids and her thin arms on the floor. There was a slim chance Eric could wake her up, but he still tried.

Richard dragged his feet to the couch and found his voice, "Hey, Princess, you up?"

The dark haired girl made a face when she heard her despised nickname. It was enough proof that she was awake. With her limited strength she replied, "Bite…me…Eddie."

The Richard immediately realized what she said. He started to poke the girl's head to get her attention, "Its Eric. You have to remember that."

The girl blindly swatted his hand away and shifted her position without opening her eyes. Eric or Eddie carefully sat on one of the smaller couches. His head was throbbing and felt nauseous, all courtesy of last night. He's sure that everyone else in the house was just as miserable.

The girl caught his attention again, "You had to change both of your names. That gets very confusing, Eric."

Eric sympathized with her. This whole ordeal is very complicated. The Richard tried to show his compassion, "I know how you feel. I had to train myself to respond to Eric. Try calling me, Cousin"

His female cousin made another face, "No, that sounds weird."

Eric thought of another idea, "Then try saying it in Xingese."

" _Cousin,_ no, still sounds weird." She paused for a moment and continued, "Eric, do you check the date in the newspaper to prove to yourself that we're in the past?"

Eric glanced at his cousin; she still appeared to be sleeping. He thought over his answer, "I don't have to anymore, because I have actual proof investing me for the past week."

Eric heard a chuckle come from the couch. "You know," he wanted to caution her, "Once he sees you, he's not going to let you out of his sight."

She shrugged off his concern, "I know. I'm in this just as much as you."

Eric knew that was true. The excruciating pain in his head made him lose his next thought. He slumped into the couch trying to find a comfortable position. His cousin could hear him struggling without her looking at him, "Have a hangover?"

Eric grumbled in the couch, "It was your fault, buying the Red Dragon Rum."

"I did not tell you to drink the whole bottle."

"Still your fault"

" _Baby,_ "

Eric's cousin would switch from Amestrian to Xingese very often. She swears it's by accident. He always considered learning Xingese just to know what she is saying.

* * *

Fullmetal knew something was amiss when he first walked into the Richard's house. By now, all of the Richards would be up, ate breakfast, and off doing their individual tasks. Eric and someone he does not know were sleeping in the front room. There's no sign of the other two and it was way too quiet.

Edward had another set of questions to ask Eric; mostly about his new house-guest. He did not know why, but the unnamed girl did spark his interest. Edward patted Eric's head with his left hand to wake him up. That's when he noticed how pale he looked.

"Edward, let Eric sleep."

The alchemist turned to see Sara leaning on the wall in the hallway. Fullmetal took her advice, but he still had questions. "Is he okay?" Edward headed towards the blond.

He realized how sickly Sara looked and asked, "Are you okay? Are you sick?"

Sara jolted, "Sick? No, we're not sick, Edward."

Fullmetal did not believe that. Her face was pale as her brother's and she appeared to be very drowsy. Edward's worry only deepened. "You should sit down."

"Okay," Sara weakly agreed.

Sara recognized the worry in Ed's soft tone. She sluggishly made her way to the wood table and took a seat. She faced the short alchemist and said with a weak smile, "Really Edward, I'm fine."

That was not convincing enough. "You would have tackled me by now if you were fine." Edward pointed out.

Sara's wide grin crept on her face, "Do you want a hug?"

"No," Edward took a step back. She's starting to act like herself.

"I think he does." Nicholas revealed himself.

Edward and Sara snapped their heads to his direction. As Edward thought, he had the same demeanor as the older siblings. He smiled at them as he took a seat at the table. Nicholas had to hold his head up. Ed's curiosity got the best of him, "What is wrong with you two?"

Nicholas looked at his sister, "You didn't tell him?"

Ed frowned, "Tell me what?"

Sara replied to her little brother, "It's embarrassing."

Nicholas groaned with his head still in his hands. Why does he have to do everything? "Ed, we're hungover."

"O," the alchemist thought over all of their symptoms. Everything started to make sense. "You could have told me that," that statement was directed to Sara, who was not happy with Nicholas; she was giving him the evil eyes.

Nicholas was ignoring his sister. He was having flashbacks from the night they spent at the bar. He started to smile to himself and began a quick story, "We were doing fine, but we were all doomed when Princess over there," he pointed his thumb to the direction of the couches.

Edward glanced over to the unconscious people on the couches. It was obvious that he was not talking about Eric. He noted the name he used.

"She went, 'Here guys, try this.'" He imitated a girl's voice and waved an imaginary bottle in the air. "It was really good," he whined with a smile.

Nick's story somewhat brightened the mood. Sara and Edward couldn't help smiling at his poor imitations. Soft noises came from the other side of the room followed by a few statements mumbled in Xingese.

Fullmetal turned his attention to the unidentified house-guest. "Who's your friend?"

Nicholas countered, "The one who got all of us drunk?"

Edward fought back another smile, "Yeah, her."

Sara chimed in, "She's my new roommate."

Edward jolted this time, "A new roommate? Why do you need a new roommate? How do you know her anyway? Is she like you three?"

Sara expected the load of new questions. However, the last one caught Sara and Nicholas off guard. What the hell did he mean by that? Another Xingese statement was muttered in the background. This time everyone stopped and replayed what she said in her head. In the middle of the statement, it sounded like she said the name Ed.

Sara and Nicholas shared a look before they turned to Fullmetal. He disappeared from his spot and went across the room. They didn't see him move.

Edward was staring at the slender, dark haired girl that was just now waking up. She had on a black oriental shirt with gold flower patterns on it. Her dark hair contrasted with her ivory skin.

Fullmetal barely noticed any of those features on her. The only thing he really noticed was that the girl had the Richard's trademark gold eyes. The two looked at each in utter shock for a few seconds. Then, the house-guest rose from the couch and shyly smiled at Edward.

"Fullmetal Alchemist?" her voice was timid.

Edward did not response; he was frozen in place. The girl continued anyway; she knew who he was. She quickly bowed to Fullmetal and introduced herself, "My name is Amaya Richard and those three," she pointed to the other Richards in the room, "are my cousins."

"Cousins?" Fullmetal repeated her last word and grasped what she just said. He wondered who she could really be. However, he wasn't ready for that question, not now. Edward looked at the newest Richard, or the latest one he knows about, and grinned. "It's nice to meet you," he managed to say.

Amaya breathed out; the hardest part was over. However, Edward was still staring. He bluntly asked, "Are you hungover, too?"

The surprised look on her face was his answer. "You should sit down. I'll make breakfast," he suggested to her.

Edward glanced back at Sara and Nicholas who were making hand gestures to stop and they weren't looking at him. Amaya tried to guess Edward's height with her hand. Fullmetal spun his head to face Amaya again. Her hands were behind her back, now.

Edward's skepticism was all over his face. He told her, "I'm watching you."

Amaya grinned back, "I know."

* * *

The Fullmetal Alchemist had a lot of explaining to do. He kept thinking about all of Alphonse's responses to different situations. Hopefully, he stays calm and collected as he absorbs this new information. He slowly opened the dorm's door and walked into the room.

There was no need to sneak in stealthy, because Alphonse cannot sleep. Edward instantly gained Alphonse's undivided attention when he walked in. "How was your morning, Brother?" His voice was devious.

"Sara's not my girlfriend," he said that countless times by now.

"I know. I know. But," Al noticed his brother's scowl.

"She's. Not. My. Girlfriend!"

It was too early for this. Edward did not want to have this conversation again. He had another plan. The alchemist put his hand in his pocket to grasp a small photo. He suggested, "Al, if you say that Sara is not my girlfriend, I let you see a picture of her."

Alphonse jumped up from his chair. "I can! The photo is in your pocket, isn't it?!"

"Al," Ed warned his little brother.

Alphonse did not know what his brother was up to, but he will find out. The armor took a few steps forward towards Edward. Edward kept his composure the whole time. The armor is his little brother. "Well?"

Alphonse sighed. This was stupid. "Sara's not your girlfriend. So, if she is a friend why are you hiding her?"

Here's comes the explaining part of the conversation. He had a way around it, too. Edward pulled out the photo from his pocket. Alphonse bounced in anticipation and excitement. Edward was regretting this already. But, he couldn't keep the Richards a secret anymore.

Al had his hand stretched out, ready to grab that photo. He was fighting his urge not to ambush Ed and take it. Edward had one more thing to add, "Sara is not the only one in the picture, her two brothers and cousin are in it too."

"Okay, okay. Just point to her," Alphonse still had his hands out.

Edward glanced at the picture one more time before he slipped it in Al's hands. Al instantly held the photo up to his head to get a good look at it. At first he thought he saw his brother and then he realized that couldn't have been Ed; the guy was the tallest in the group. Alphonse scanned over the smiling faces, noticing all of them share the same gold eyes.

"Ed," Al's tone changed.

Edward blinked. It was nice that Al was finally up to speed. There was the still the inevitable million questions was coming. Alphonse's head was still in the photo, "Who are these people?"

"The Richards," Edward quickly replied. It was the simplest answer.

Al swiftly turned his head to face Edward. That was not the answer he was expecting. Edward forced a smile; he knew what Alphonse was thinking. He tried to keep him level headed, "The tall one's name is Eric. The shorter one is Nicholas. Also, Sara is the blond girl and Amaya is the dark haired girl."

Al took another look at the photo. He mentally assigned the names to the faces. One name did not sound right, "His name is Eric?"

"That is what he told me," Edward had the same suspicion.

Alphonse tried his best to pick one question at a time; too many were forming at once. "So, you've been spent your time with them all week?"

Edward hesitated, "Well, I had a feeling that they were lying about their origins. So, I was trying to see if everything they said was true."

Al knew his brother omitted something. "Why? Who do you think they are?"

"I have my theory." Ed did not want to say it.

 _Gotcha_ , Al thought to himself. "If you tell me, I could help you with prove it."

"I don't know if I want to prove it." Edward admitted.

"You could still tell me."

"I don't want to."

"Brother,"

"Al,"

"I want to meet the Richards." Edward gave his brother a curious look. "I have a theory about them, too."

* * *

Amaya suddenly felt a little nervous. She became distracted from breakfast and stared out blankly in a direction. Sara realized that her younger cousin stopped eating and asked, "What's wrong?"

Maya shook her head and said, "I just got a strange feeling."

Sara shrugged; she didn't think much of that vague answer. Amaya look down at the bowl and thought about a topic that her cousins have not mentioned yet. "Have you met the armor yet?"

This time Sara and Nicholas looked up at Amaya. They shared a nervous look. "Well, no," Nick answered her, "Fullmetal have not mentioned Uncle Al all week. By the way, that's a new record."

That was odd for Edward. Sara thought it over, "Do you think he was scared to ask? I mean, we did not say we had an uncle until Maya came here."

Nicholas realized that, "It was strange enough meeting Fullmetal. I'm glad we didn't meet both at the same time."

Amaya feeling grew worse. She clasped her face and nervously sighed into her hands. She realized why Fullmetal looked at her liked that. "I'm proof that _Dad_ got his body back. He needs one to have a firstborn."

Her cousins stiffened. They did not think about it like that. "Well," Nick spoke up, "we're going to meet Armor Uncle soon."

Sara and Amaya shot him a look. Nicholas grimaced back at them. "You can't call him that. It's disrespectful."

"Well, sorry. He's not even here yet." Nicholas tried to imagine the seven foot armor that he saw in pictures.

"O, Edward knows about us." Maya added into the dwindling conversation.

Sara's and Nicholas's eyes widened shock. "But, we didn't tell him anything."

Maya chuckled at their reactions, "You're kind of obvious."

Nicholas retorted, "Am not!"

Sara asked, "If he knows, why didn't he say anything?"

Amaya knew the answer to that, "Because he may not believe it himself. He's already taken a shine to us. I mean, he made us all breakfast."

Everyone glimpsed down at the bowl of oatmeal in front of them. Sara shrugged it off, "He can cook. That's not strange."

"He's a teenager who made breakfast for everyone. That's weird." Amaya sighed again; they don't get it. "What happened last week?"

Sara's responded quicker, "Nothing happened. Fullmetal came over at random times of the day, asked a few questions, sometimes he'll read a book or take a nap on the couch, then leave after an hour or so."

"Sometimes, not in that order," Nick added in for no reason.

"That's it. Did he ask questions about your parents or your family?" Amaya thought Fullmetal would have interrogated all of them by now. A crushing realization came to her, " _My Dad is going to ask all the hard questions._ "

"What?" No one else at that table could speak Xingese.

Amaya gave them a straightforward look, "Get ready for cross-examinations."

Nicholas looked over at his still unconscious older brother. He huffed; he wanted an everything-will-be-fine look from him. Nicholas gestured to the couch and said, "Should we wake Brother up for the cross-examinations."'

Sara wanted her big brother's reassurance, too. "No, we should let him sleep."

* * *

 **A/N: If Edward seem more humble than usual, that's because the Richards done nothing to upset him or tick him off. They do know how to, just don't want to. Also, they still treat him like a father figure. They can't help that.**

 **I want more people to find out about them. Like some of Ed's coworkers, for example. That's my thoughts on this.**

 _ **A. Leaf**_


	4. Daddy's Girl

**The Richards Ch. 4**

Daddy's Girl

* * *

A low bell was chiming in the front room. Sara instantly popped out of her daydream to go fetch it. She was the only one of the Richards who could get it. Amaya was still changing and her brothers already left. She picked it up and made her formal greeting, "Hello, Richards' residence."

"Sara?" An adolescent was on the line. Sara immediately recognized the distinct voice.

"Edward?" Her tone grew higher. "Hi Edward, I didn't know you had this number."

"I found it. You sound a lot better from this morning."

"Thanks to the breakfast you made. I feel good as new."

"That's good…"

"O and Edward," she interrupted his train of thought. "I forgot to give you a hug this morning. You should have reminded me."

Edward's shoulders slumped, "I have to remind you now?"

Sara imagined the awkward face Ed would make and giggled. "Yes, Edward. Now, I have to wait a whole day or two before I get to see you again. I don't want to wait that long."

A symphony of awes came from behind the alchemist. He turned around to see a small crowd of coworkers eavesdropping on the conversation. Ed covered the mouthpiece with his hand and snarled at them, "Get lost before I start throwing punches."

"Why didn't you give Sara a goodbye hug, Chief? She clearly misses you."

"You should go right now and comfort her. I'll drive you."

"Why is this the first time I am hearing about your little girlfriend, Edward?" Hughes sounded hurt. "I could have given you some pointers."

Edward grew angry as he looked at their lovey-dovey expressions. This joke was really getting old. "Are you at work, Edward?" Everyone heard Sara's surprised voice.

Sara sighed nervously and shook her head. Does Ed know anything about military gossip? This is bad.

"Uh-oh, did we just get Chief in trouble?" one of them whispered.

"He has some explaining to do."

Everyone, except Edward, was enjoying this. He thought of something quick, "Yeah, I only called to see if you or your family was busy tonight. Uh, my brother wants to meet…"

Sara bounced in place and interpreted him again, "Of course, your little brother can come over! We were starting to wonder why we haven't met him yet. Bring him over anytime, but your nosy coworkers can't come."

A demonic smile was on Fullmetal's face as he watched the insulted reactions from the group. It was nice to have someone on his side and he is relieved that Sara is excited to meet Al. Edward ignored their comebacks and told Sara, "Okay. I'll see you later, Sara."

"Bye Edward." She nearly sang that.

Sara heard several people saying that they wanted to talk to her on the other end of the line. She hung up the phone without addressing any of them. She tried to imagine how Edward was going to talk himself away from the swarm of military gossips. He'll probably yell until they drop the subject.

Hold on, he said that he'll bring Alphonse over here soon. Sara smiled again and rushed to her bedroom. She swung the door and announced, "Princess, Ed is bringing Al over here."

Luckily, Amaya was already full dressed. She took her braids down and was brushing her waist length ebony hair. She froze in shock, "What? You mean right now?"

Sara shook her head, "No, not right now. Actually, I don't know when he's coming. But, I do know that we are going to meet him soon, very soon."

Maya was dissatisfied with that, "You don't know when? But I want to make sure I look presentable when young _Dad_ sees me. What were you wearing when Fullmetal meet you?"

"I was topless." Sara admitted cheerfully and smiled at her shocked cousin. "You're overthinking everything. They're teenaged boys; they don't care what about clothing. But, I have a feeling we might run into Alphonse today."

Her cousin had to ask, "Why do you say that?"

"Because one of the pictures we took last night is missing, the one with all of us in it."

"Do you think Edward took it?"

Sara shrugged, "Well, maybe. I know I brought it here. It's enough proof to make anyone close to the Elric brothers suspicious of us."

Amaya knew what she was talking about, "We should really stop taking pictures while we're here."

"Tell that to Lys," Sara retorted. "Taking a dozen pictures for every event is her thing."

Maya remembered who took the pictures in the first place. She asked one more thing, "How were you able to keep everything a secret from Fullmetal? You tell your _Dad_ everything."

Sara was a little offended, "I was able to keep you from him. Just remember, some things have to stay a secret and hurry up, Lys is probably waiting on us."

* * *

Edward did not have a moment's peace after the phone call with Sara. The questions about Sara came constantly. Sara was right about them being nosy. Honestly, shouldn't they be working? Why is his personal life so important to everyone? Hughes was the worst out of all of them. Ed tried not to look at his stupid smile; it was a trap.

"Edward?" Hughes was trying to get his attention.

Ed just glared forward trying to avoid Hughes.

"I know you can hear me, Edward. Please, I only have a few questions."

 _Trap, trap, trap,_ Edward furiously thought to himself. He got up from his seat and started walking aimlessly, anything to get away from nosy Hughes.

"Wait, Edward, what is she like? How did you two meet? How special is she to you?"

Edward already toned him out. He really did not like how much attention Sara is receiving. She never set foot in this place and Mustang's crew can't stop talking about her. How could this get any worse?

Hughes stepped in front of Fullmetal forcing him to stop. "Well, what do feel when you see her? Do you get nervous and sweaty? Do you get butterflies when you think about her? I saw your face when you talked to her; you do like her, Ed."

"It's not like that," Edward thought out loud.

"Okay, so describe your feelings towards her." Hughes wanted to squeeze every detail from the young alchemist. It was refreshing to see Edward love-struck like this.

"It's like…" Edward trailed off. How could he describe the way the Richards looked at him and treated him? Or how comfortable he feels whenever he is around them? The whole week they haven't called him short, haven't patted his head like a child, haven't given him milk, or done anything that could have ticked him off. It's like they already knew him.

"Lost for words, huh? That's natural, Edward. I'll wait for the day when you can't stop talking about her. But, you know, a picture is worth a thousand words."

"No," Edward demanded as he marched away.

"You don't know what I was going to ask." Hughes mopped at the retreating figure.

"No!" Edward was louder that time.

What Hughes doesn't know is that Edward already talked about the characteristics of each of the Richard with Alphonse already. He pretty much unloaded every piece of information he discovered about them, the parts of their backstory that are untrue, and most importantly, their behavior. Al listened to every word. After the hour long oral report, all Al asked was, "So, when can I meet them?"

Al became a little obsessed with the Richards after that and made him call Sara earlier. He already knew that they had errands to run for most of the day. Usually, they would all retire around the same time at night to have dinner. That's a perfect time to introduce Al, when they are all together in one place. However, telling Alphonse that he has to wait was easier said than done.

* * *

Sara was rethinking everything that was on her to-do list for the day. She is happy that she was almost done. She was strolling down the sidewalk on her way to get a dessert for the actors in the theater, because the caterer forgot to bring one. That is one of the duties of being the manager.

"Are you Sara Richard?" a deep voice called her.

Sara looked up and saw someone that she did not recognize. It could have easily been one of Edward's coworkers, but he did not look part of the military. "You're the one who's close to Fullmetal?"

Sara realized what this was. Damn the military gossip. Her face became blank, "So what if I am?"

The unnamed man smiled evilly and pointed at her. "Then you're coming with me," the guy commanded.

"O." The unfazed tone only angered the guy.

* * *

"I think her name was Sara Richard."

Fullmetal paid attention to the random soldiers in the hallway. How the hell do they know her? "She's with Duncan because a traitor tried to snatch her off the street, but…"

A high pitched sound rung in Edward's ear preventing him from hearing anything else. It didn't matter anyway, he had enough information. He called for Al. His brother was alarmed by the seriousness in Ed's voice. "What is it, Brother?"

"You're about to meet Sara," Edward started to pacing down the hallway.

Al followed him, "Right now?"

"Yes."

Alphonse had follow-up questions, but he had to concentrate on keeping up with Edward. His pacing was rapidly increasing. Eventually, he had to start running to keep up with him. Al saw a glimpse of Edward turn down a hallway, but when Al got there, he lost him. There were too many doors and each one was someone's office. He did not want to check each one to see where Ed went. All he can do now is wait on his brother.

Edward wasn't concerned about Alphonse at all. He walked into Duncan's office without knocking or introducing himself. He didn't pay attention Duncan or his assistant; he didn't even acknowledged at them. Edward marched up to the girl with light gold hair. He exhaled when she smiled at him.

Fullmetal flashed his pocket watch and firmly stated, "She's coming with me."

There were no objections, because Fullmetal was a higher ranking than Duncan. He grabbed Sara's hand and held it over his left shoulder. Sara popped from her seat and followed behind Edward. Edward seemed tense and she did not know what was wrong with him. When Sara entered the hallway, all of her attention shifted to the suit of armor.

"Al, this is Sara." Edward briefly introduced them.

Alphonse looked at the starry eyed blonde. Her face was frozen in an ecstatic expression. She gasped for air and started babbling, "You're Alphonse? Wow, I'm so excited to meet you. I've heard so much about you. I'm Sara Richard. Edward already said that. I'm just a little nervous, too. I had a feeling that I was going to meet you today. How are you doing?"

In the first thirty seconds of meeting her, she didn't mention the armor or the irony that he's made of metal and not his brother. This was a first for Al. Edward never stopped walking and was dragging Sara down the hallway. Al followed them. Still, the only thing Al could focus on was Edward was holding her hand.

"I'm okay. I've heard a lot about you too, Sara." Al replied to her.

"I need a car." Ed's voice interrupted their conversation who was talking to the front desk clerk.

Both of them glanced at Edward who was dragging Sara outside. He was being very distant at that moment. They didn't know what's eating Ed and was thinking of ways to ask him when they were alone. Al noticed Sara's concerned look. She nudged Fullmetal and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Edward!" a loud male voice came from nowhere. "Is that Sara?!"

Edward glared angrily in that direction and pulled Sara behind him. Hughes was rapidly gaining on the three. He was too far away to get a good look at the mysterious girl, but he did notice that she was nearly a foot taller than Edward. He yelled, "Aren't you a little short for her?"

Oops. Hughes kept forgetting that Ed's height is a sensitive topic for him. He saw Edward twitched in anger and tensed up, ready to yell. Al and Hughes expected to hear an excessive rant, but that never happened. Edward twitched again and froze in shock.

Al was ready to calm his brother down, but Sara beat him to it. She kissed the back of Edward's head. Al and Hughes didn't see her do it. The two guys were confused when Edward slowly turned to look up at her and he took her hand again.

 _What the hell?_ Hughes thought to himself. His instincts were screaming that something was going on. "Edward?" he called again.

Edward recognized that tone in his voice. He needed to get Sara away from Hughes. Thankfully a military car pulled up beside them and he pushed Sara towards the car. "I'll be right back, Al."

"It was nice meeting you, Alphonse. Stop by some time." Sara joyfully greeted him again. Before Ed climbed in the car after her, she asked him, "What about the other guy?"

"I don't hear anybody." Edward answered as he closed the car door on Hughes. "Take us to Tempus Theater, please."

"Sure thing, Chief," Havoc's voice surprised Edward. Out of everyone in the military, it had to be Havoc. "So, are you Chief's new girlfriend?"

Sara paled. She was not expecting that, "No, no, we're only friends."

"Chief usually doesn't hug his friends. But, I would hug you too, if you were my friend." Then he winked at her.

Sara inhaled nervously; she was worried for the driver. He was lucky that there was a wall separating them. Edward growled and pounded on it, "Keep your eyes on the road, Havoc."

Sara watched Fullmetal slump back into his seat. She leaned to the wall and asked the driver, "Can I talk to Edward in private, please?"

"Huh?" Who wants to be alone with Fullmetal?

"Thank you," She completely closed the wall. Now, she can't see the driver.

Edward avoided her kind stare. "Edward, I never got my hug."

He didn't budge. Sara scooted closer to him and said, "I'm going to hug to you anyway."

Edward did believe her and he finally looked at her. He thought about what the random solider said and felt guilty and helpless. The state alchemist asked, "Are you hurt?"

Sara gasped when she realized what's wrong. She rubbed the back of her neck and said, "You found out about that?" Why wouldn't he?

Sara stretched her arms towards him and said, "Come here, Ed."

Fullmetal didn't think about it or resist. Sara pulled him into a tight hug and he fully embraced her back. She tried not to think about his automail arm. After a few seconds, she finally said, "You are the sweetest thing. You don't have to worry about me. I can fend for myself."

"You could have been hurt."

Sara tightened her hug, "Don't underestimate me, Edward. I've had far worse fights with my brothers. That guy was nothing. Also, he kind of riled me up and I may have gone a tiny bit overboard."

Edward tried to imagine that, but couldn't, "You don't get mad."

Sara looked at the blond locks that were resting on her shoulder. She poked his head and said, "I can't get mad at you, Edward. How could I stay mad at that face?"

"I can recommend a few people who can help you with that." Edward retorted.

The girl chuckled and released him. She knew he's okay now. "Why would I want to do that?"

Edward smiled at her. It's like she drained the negative energy from him. He thought over the things she said. It almost sounded like something he would say. "Who are you?"

"I'm Sara Richard."

"You don't have to lie to me."

"You think I'm lying?"

"I think your last name is not Richard."

Sara hesitated for a second. Amaya may have been right along. She cropped her head on the chair and asked, "If it's not Richard, what could it be?"

"You tell me."

The two stared at each other down. Both of them had a strong will. "We're at the theater." Havoc yelled through from upfront. He didn't fuss, because he heard every word.

Sara broke her gaze and looked around. She remembered all the craziness that she left behind and sighed. "Bye Edward."

"Bye Sara," He felt empty as he watched her get out of the car.

He moved to the other side of the car and called out to her, "Don't go out by yourself, and stay with someone. And contact me, the next time your in trouble."

Sara waved behind her back. "Okay, Edward."

Havoc thought it was a good time to give his two cents. He knocked on the wall and said, "So, Chief, do you have strong feelings for this girl?"

Edward frowned, that negative feeling was returning. "I don't think of her as my girlfriend, okay? How many times do I have to tell you?"

"Whoa," What happened to the soft spoken Chief that was in the car a minute ago? "Well, I hope you're not kidding, because there is a strong chance that she is related to you."

Edward moved the wall down. He can see Havoc, now. He stared straight at him and asked, "What makes you think that?"

Havoc shrugged, "Uh, it is very rare to see someone with gold eyes. You two are the only people that I know who have gold eyes. Even her hair color is similar to yours."

Edward held his hair and examined it. He never noticed that. Havoc continued on, "Sara even acts like you. Did you hear about what happened to her today?"

"That someone tried to kidnap her." Edward answered.

"That's all you heard, Chief? No wonder you were worried about her."

"You were listening?" Edward gritted through his teeth.

"I am right here, geez, I should call Sara to come back." He saw Edward's unenthusiastic face and continued, "Anyway, she beat the crap out of that guy and used alchemy to do it. The guy was a highly dangerous fugitive on the run for years. Duncan was so impressed with her skills that he spent about two hours trying to convince her to take the State Alchemy Exam. The whole place is buzzing about her possibly being the first female state alchemist."

"What?" Edward was trying to absorb all of the information. Sara had an alchemy fight, apprehended a dangerous fugitive, walked away without a scratch, and was approached to take the State Exam. That was too much information to swallow even for the Fullmetal Alchemist. Wait a second, "She's an alchemist?!"

Havoc jumped in his seat, "She didn't tell you. What do you two talk about?"

Havoc is the second person who asked him that and Ed doesn't know how to answer that. He does know what their next conversation will be about.

* * *

Colonel Mustang was sitting in his office doing, or trying, to his paperwork. A loud thump pulled him out of his concentration. "Where the hell is he?!"

This already became more interesting than paperwork and it wasn't Fullmetal. Mustang heard his team trying to reason with the guy, but it wasn't working. The colonel walked into the front office to see what the commotion was about. "There you are. Who do you think you are?"

Mustang held his hands up. He had no idea what was going on. "I'm Colonel Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist."

"Just because you are a state alchemist doesn't mean that you can steal my recruit, you prick. I saw Sara first."

"I don't know a Sara."

"Then why did Fullmetal escort her out of the building?"

Mustang was about tell him about really doesn't care about Fullmetal's personal life, but he noticed the looks on his teams' faces. They obviously know something. "Sara Richard is Chief's Sara? Duncan, tell us everything you know about her," one of them demanded.

Seeing the dumbfounded look on the colonel's face, Duncan realized he said too much. He retreated from the office without saying another word. Breda rolled his eyes, "Well, we know her last name. That's a good start. Does anybody know any Richards?"

Everyone in the office shook their heads. Mustang was feeling agitated for being out of the loop and commanded for everyone to get back to work. He turned to Hawkeye and softly asked her, "What is going? Who is Sara Richard?"

Everyone in the room, except Hawkeye, answered those questions.

* * *

 **A/N: Here's the fourth chapter. I think will disappoint a few people if abandon this story.**

 **To lilaclily00, I haven't decided that yet. When the Elrics met Mei, Hughes was dead and they were in the middle of a lot of drama. It will bring a great dynamic if the Elrics knew her. There is a reason why Hughes is still alive, but that comes later. I'll work it in, somehow.**

 **Daddy's little angel, huh. I thought about mentioning the other Richards, but it wouldn't have went the title of the chapter. Now, Mustang is involved. What's gonna happen next? I don't want to give away any spoilers. And don't worry, there will be a fifth chapter.**

 _ **A.** **Leaf**_


	5. Random Pop Up

**Uh, now, this story is more than Edward & the Richards. After the chapter, you'll know what I mean. **

**New time-paradox characters were mentioned. I wonder if you can tell who they are with all of the subtle hints. Then, Nicholas will tell you.**

 _ **A. Leaf**_

* * *

 **The Richards Ch. 5**

Random Pop Up

* * *

"You're an alchemist?!"

Sara turned around to see Fullmetal staring her down. It could not have come on a worse time and he really should not be in here. A lot of things are at jeopardy of he recognized the few people who are here. However, his angry face is so adorable. She nearly forgot the seriousness of the situation.

Sara took a calming breathe and smiled at the young alchemist, "Yeah, I am an alchemist. I never thought it was a big deal, Edward."

Edward's mind was racing with thoughts about the Richards. He noticed a brunette woman shifting awkwardly beside Sara. She stared at Fullmetal bewildered for a several seconds before collecting herself. The unnamed woman looked nervous as tried to excuse herself from the confrontation.

Sara glimpsed over to her and said, "Yeah, sorry again about the dessert."

"I-Its fine, Sara," she bowed at Edward before heading towards another room.

Something about her demeanor seemed familiar. Edward raised an eyebrow and asked her, "Do I know you?"

Sara stepped in immediately, "No. Where are my manners? Edward, this is Lys. She does all of the catering here and stars in some of the plays. Lys, this is Edward Elric."

Edward was trying to figure out where he had seen her before, but couldn't pinpoint an exact time. But her sea-green eyes and sandy brown hair reminded him of someone he knew. Knocking cut through the awkward silence. The three looked at Amaya and Nicholas standing in the doorway.

"Lys, Raymond needs your help with his costume."

Nicholas gave her a reason a reason to leave and she gladly took it. "In that case, I have to go. It was nice meeting you, Edward."

She darted the room as fast as she could. This only raised Ed's suspicion. "Have I met her before? Is her name Richard, too?"

"No, her last name is Huller." Nick answered.

"Edward, there's no need to question her." Amaya tried to chip in. Lys is not even her for Edward. He did not look convinced at all.

Sara crept up behind Edward and firmly placed her hands on his shoulders. "Edward, you can't interrogate everyone we talk to."

"I want you to tell me the truth." Ed demanded.

"We're from the future." Nicholas said casually.

He shifted in pain. Maya already poked him with one of hidden daggers. "Nicholas, take this seriously," she scolded him.

Edward smirked and crossed his arms. He knew that was not a random answer. "I can tell when you're lying."

The Richards froze. What could they say to that? Their whole existence is based off is a lie and Fullmetal saw through it. "You can?" Nick was able to choke out.

Sara walked in front of Edward to directly face him. "Do you think we're from the future?"

To everyone's relief, Edward shook his head no and said, "That's completely ludicrous; time travel is only a myth. All I want to know is; what are you doing here?"

Sara did not want to answer that. "We're not from the future, Edward."

"Whatever you say," Edward said still smirking at her. "I have to get back to Alphonse. Everyone at work is probably asking him lots of questions about you."

Edward headed towards the exit waving back. Nicholas blankly waved backed; his mind was somewhere else. Amaya was glaring at Sara and she was innocently smiling back her. Mentioning Alphonse sparked something. He marched away knowing that there will be another fight soon. Edward really did have to get back to Al. He suddenly remembered that he dumped Hughes on him.

Like routine, the Richards waited a few minutes before they could start talking about their situation. Nicholas sucked in air and said, "That makes so much sense. That's why we couldn't keep any secrets from Dad. We need to work on our bluffing."

"You met Alphonse!"

Maya rarely raises her voice, but she couldn't control her jealously. Sara waved her hands defensively and tried her best to reason with her, "Hey, hey, hey. It was for less than five minutes and Edward was rushing me out of the military base. I may not have left an impression on him."

"Hold on, what were you doing at the military base?" Nicholas had to catch that.

"I never told you why I couldn't get the pie. I unexpectedly walked into a fight…"

"Sara! We're supposed to be keeping a low profile!"

"It wasn't my fault! The bastard started it!"

"Stop yelling! _There's no need for that!_ " Amaya needs to remember how hot headed her cousins are. "Sara, tell us what happened at the military base."

"A guy was impressed with my alchemy skills and kept asking me to register for the State Alchemy Exam."

Nicholas used hand gestures to make his point more dramatic, "No! No! You cannot take that exam! The last thing we need is that kind of publicly! You can't become a state alchemist!"

"Wow, you sound just like Dad!" Sara defused Nick's rant. "Don't you think I know that? This isn't about me. Alphonse knows about us now and who knows who else. The last thing we need is anyone else snooping around here."

"You're right about that!" another voice interrupted the private altercation.

"Raymond, get out of here!" Sara and Nick said in unison.

A young teenager emerged from his hiding spot from under the desk. His hair color was altered, but his natural pale skin and bronze eyes haven't been touched. He blankly stared at the infuriated Richards. After eavesdropping on them, he's more frustrated with them at this point. "You Elrics are going to ruin everything," he shook his head as he walked away.

"It's Richard!" Three pairs of gold eyes shot daggers at his back.

* * *

"Brother, where have you been? Where did you get that?" Alphonse looked down at his older brother. He did not appreciate being ditched like that. Now, he shows up out of nowhere with a small bowl of spaghetti.

Edward noticed Hughes examining the bowl and was impatiently tapping his foot as he waited for an answer. Ed did his best to ignore his obnoxious grin. "I took Sara back to work; chatted with her and her relatives a few minutes, raided the food table, and came back. The drive there and back was very long."

"Right, and Fullmetal didn't spend fifteen minutes talking to his girlfriend, we would have been back in ten minutes ago." Havoc loves to ruin things. He causally said that as he headed back towards his office.

Edward was the center of attention and he did not like that at all. The last thing he wants to do is give Hughes and Mustang's crew a reason to go search the Richards, however, defending them only made things a lot worse. "Shouldn't you guys be working?" That did not help.

"Uh, Ed, where did you get that bowl of spaghetti from?" Edward realized that Hughes still focusing his food instead of him.

"From Sara's workplace; here take it, I wasn't that hungry." Edward handed him the small bowl.

Hughes stared at it a little longer; he was obviously thinking about something. Al noticed his unusual behavior too, "Is something wrong, Hughes?"

Hughes shook his head still staring at the bowl, "No, it's just…this looks just like my Gracia's cooking. I wonder if she took another catering job without telling me."

Edward relaxed a little; it's weird to see him so tense. "The cook's name is Lys and she made that. Gracia was nowhere that place. Come on, Al. I have to go check in with the colonel."

Alphonse never saw Hughes disorientated before. A few minutes ago, he tapped his shoulder and gently asked, "Are you okay?"

He nodded and said, "Yeah, I have some researching to do. See you two later."

Edward was extremely relieved when he saw Hughes walk away. If a bowl of Lys's cooking could distract Hughes so much, he would visit the theater every day just to grab some. "He'll be fine, Al. At least we got him off our back."

"Yeah," Al agreed with that, but he couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that something was bothering him.

* * *

"There's something weird going on, Roy." Hughes was trying to spike his best friend's interest. He was way too calm about this.

"I am not going to question every new friend of the Elric Brothers. I don't have enough time for that." Roy was not fazed by the mysterious Sara Richard.

Besides, he already asked Edward about Sara and got nothing. Edward was very secretive about her and was strongly against her becoming a state alchemist. Roy was hoping if he could recruit her, because it would boost his ranking again; like what happened when he recruited Edward. That would have been great opportunity if Edward didn't destroy his desk when he suggested it to him. He decided to not to look any further into it.

It's the end of the week and that means a few drinks with Hughes to wind down. To avoid the costs of the bars, and running into Scar, they decided to buy their beer from a corner store. Roy honestly did not know there was one on the far edges of the town. Hughes insisted that they had to go to that one.

"I highly doubt that Miss Richard is someone of interest. If Fullmetal wants to protect this girl, I do not blame him." Roy was trying to change the subject.

"But, what about the spaghetti?" Maes had his own set of questions.

"It's only spaghetti." Roy rolled his eyes. Why is spaghetti a reason to go interrogate a person?

"That was my wife's spaghetti. No can cook like my darling Gracia. How can you explain that?" Hughes was hysterical.

"There are a lot of reasons why. Maybe you got confused." He felt Maes fuming. There are worse things to worry about right now.

"Um, excuse me, sir." An unfamiliar voice came from behind the counter.

Roy switched his attention to the store clerk, a weak effort to avoid Hughes. "Were you calling me?"

The guy nodded and kept a straight face at Mustang, "I wanted to ask; do you have a little brother?"

Mustang shot him a strange look, because that question came out of nowhere. This guy has no idea that there is no way he could have a brother. Instead of giving him a lecture about his childhood, he chuckled and was going to simply answer no. Suddenly, Hughes jumped between them and took over the conversation, "Shut up, Roy. Why do you think he has a little brother?"

The guy shrugged. He wasn't expecting this response for a simple question. The amount of attention is overbearing. "I don't know. It's because there is a teenage kid who comes here all the time with his two friends; the Ishvalan teen and a short girl with short hair. He looks a lot like him and I thought they could be brothers."

The two stared at him with their mouths hanging ajar. The store clerk was panicking because he thought he'd upset the Flame Alchemist. He tried to wave off the awkward situation that he created, "I must have been mistaken then. Sorry I brought it up."

"Is his name Richard?" Hughes asked blankly.

The store clerk tried to remember where he heard that name before. "I never asked for his name, but I definitely heard it before. I don't think that is his, because I've heard him address someone else with that name. Do you have any idea who I am talking about?"

Roy and Maes had no idea, but it was enough information to get them interested.

* * *

"Hi Mustang and Hughes, what are you doing here?" Al greeted the two soldiers that were approaching his dorm room. It was out of place for them to be here at this time of the week.

"We came to talk to Fullmetal about the Richards. There is something weird about them." Mustang answered the question professionally.

Hughes chipped in too, "I am more interested about the relationship between Sara and Edward. From what I saw earlier, they have a very strong connection."

They obviously left out the weird encounter they had less than fifteen minutes ago, but that was not relevant at the moment. Alphonse looked back in forth at the two. They really have no idea what is really going on. He internally debated telling them anything. Would it only make things worse?

"You're not going to get an answer from Brother. He ignored every question about Sara all day. The whole base wanted to know where they can find her." Al caught them up.

Mustang and Hughes shared a disappointed look. Getting Fullmetal to budge on a piece of information is nearly impossible. He can be every tight lipped. An idea popped into Mustang's head, "Do you know where we can find Sara?"

Al gestured that he doesn't know. "The first time I met Sara was here and Brother basically dragged her out of here."

"Why did he do that?" Hughes asked.

"I don't know." That was a lie, but he could not tell them what he was really thinking. "On an unrelated topic, can you do me a quick favor? It will only take a few minutes."

Neither of them wanted to change the subject, but they would help Al with a simple favor. Despite his intimidating appearance, he is the nicer Elric Brother. "What is it?" Mustang wanted to know.

"I need someone to drive me to this address." He handed them a scrap of paper. Al found it on the floor about a week ago. "You don't have to stay. I can find my way back; I only need to know how to get there."

"What's at this address?" Hughes, the investigator, was on this case.

"I don't know yet, but I want to find out." Only partially true; he hoped that they could not see through his bluff. "It's probably nothing, but I really want to go there. Brother refused to take me even after he promised, because he's paranoid."

Al was frustrated with this whole situation; mainly because that he was kept out of it for so long. He can't believe that Edward kept a secret so massive from him. Edward basically lied to him and he wasn't happy about that. Al realized that to take matters into his own hands to get the truth. Hughes and Mustang never saw Alphonse so riled up before; whatever this is, it is important to him.

Mustang sighed; Al wasn't the right Elric brother he wanted to talk to, but Al already told him what he needed to know. Edward isn't talking and ordering the information out of him will not work. "Fine, I can take you there." Mustang agreed to help the teenager; it was the least he could do for him.

Al cheered up immediately; he was overwhelmed with excitement and slightly nervous about what he got himself into. Mustang was happy to help the battered teenager, even with Hughes giving him the stink eye. He turned to his friend and explained himself, "You heard Al, we are not going to get an answer from Fullmetal, and he can obviously keep a secret."

Alphonse called them out to them; he was at the front door, ready to go. If they were not his source of transportation, he would have left already. "Come on you two, there is no time to waste. We should go right now."

Roy and Maes exchanged one more look before heading towards the armor. If Edward as a dead end, maybe they can get the information from Al and this small favor could be used as leverage. Either way, they get to the bottom of this.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Thankfully the address was only fifteen minutes away from the military dorms. To Mustang's surprise, it wasn't a new bookstore or toy store; he pulled in front of a small, beige house. The commotion that came from the house could be heard from a mile away. It sounded like there was an alchemical battle in the simple house. Mustang heard yelling, things crashing, and he could see alchemical light flashing through the curtains in the windows. Why the hell did Alphonse want to come here?

Al jumped out the car as soon as Mustang stopped it. He gratefully thanked them for bringing him there and said that he owed them for this. Mustang had to make sure the car was parked before he said anything, "Hold on Al, this is where you wanted to go? The people in there sound dangerous."

For once, Hughes was on Mustang's side, "He's right. I don't feel comfortable leaving you here."

Alphonse appreciated the concern, but it wasn't necessary. He did his best to make them feel comfortable, "It's fine, really. I will see you both of you on Monday and please don't tell Edward about this."

Hughes stepped out of the car, "O, so you're keeping a secret from your big brother, Al? This isn't like you. What's going on?"

Hughes did not know the irony. "Brother, kept secrets from me, too; we don't tell each other everything."

Hughes sensed a little hostility in his voice, "Are you two fighting again?"

Al jerked surprised, "Not yet, but before I we do, I need to meet the people in that house." He pointed towards the roaring beige house. To his surprise, Mustang was already on the front porch.

Al rushed to him with Hughes trailing behind him. "You two can leave now, I have everything covered."

Mustang was staring at the front door as if there were hieroglyphics marked on it. "I thought that we left Fullmetal in the dorms, but I swear I hear him in there. Al, what is going on?"

Hughes and Al heard the peculiarity in his voice. Al gave up at that point; the only way he could get Mustang away from this house is to force him. Since he knows where it is, he can always come back. Alphonse sighed and admitted, "Okay, here's the truth. I think this is the Richards' residence. Actually…"

He paused for a moment to listen to the various screeching that was oozing from the house, "I never been surer about something in my life. Brother has been keeping them a secret and I really want to meet them. Their friends of Brother, they won't hurt me and their not dangerous." He couldn't prove that, "That's it; I'm here to meet the friends of my Brother."

"Without Edward?" Hughes immediately saw the flaw in his speech. Something is still not adding up, but who cares? Sara's in there.

Mustang raised his fist to bang on the door when Al called to him one last time, "Wait, there is one more thing you should know about the Richards before you meet them." Al tried to form the next sentence, but he remembered how ridiculous it sounds, "Never mind."

With the permission, Mustang banged on the door as hard as he can. He wanted to make sure the people in there can hear him. By the fourth knock, the commotion that was inside the house ceased and Mustang could hear the leaves rustle in the trees. He became impatient waiting for an answer. "I know people are in there," he yelled through the front door.

Al and Hughes walked onto the porch. They were able hear slight whispering coming from inside the house. "Who is it?" a young male voice finally greeted him.

"It's the Colonel Roy Mustang and you are under obligation to open this door." Mustang was shouting commands through the door. He hoped that his voice was intimidating enough. Whoever was on the other side of the door took their sweet time answering it.

Alphonse and Hughes silently creeped closer to the Flame Alchemist and waited beside him. Al tried his best not break the door to get in; he has been anticipating this moment for hours now. Hughes couldn't wait to see Sara again; he can't believe he let her slip away from him once.

A storm of whispers seeped through the door one last time and then it was slowly opened by a golden-eyed Richard.

* * *

Dinner in the Richards' household has been tricky for the past week. Reviewing the random pop-ins Fullmetal does, they concluded that if Edward did not show up by dinner, he wasn't coming that day. So they had an extra hour or so to talk about all the things that happened today without filters.

That quickly escalated to a four way brawl. The Richard siblings knew how to anger each other and pressed every button to do it. Nicholas, Sara, and Eric were throwing giant wooden hands all over the living room. Princess Amaya pulled out a long sword; the one she uses for debates like this and joined her cousins on destroying the front room to prove a point.

The Richards was blowing off some steam. It wasn't a big deal; they were going to clean it up with a few transmutations before Fullmetal sees it and asks what happened. Hence they had nothing to worry about until they heard loud knocks on the front door. All of the Richards stopped to stare at the front door.

Amaya scanned the strained faces of her cousins and became confused. She whispered. "Isn't that Edward?"

Nick shook his head and kept his voice low too, "Edward doesn't knock anymore. Someone else is out there."

"I know people are in there." An impatient voice was louder than all of them.

Eric recognized that voice. It was Uncle Roy. Crap, what the hell is he doing here? He slumped to one of the severely damaged couches, hiding his face. There was nowhere to run and hide; they've been found. Nick and Sara saw their brother's defeated pose. Nick whispered, "That could be anyone."

He looked at the door and yelled in a welcoming tone, "Who is it?"

"It's the Colonel Roy Mustang and you are under obligation to open this door."

Sara and Nicholas started to walk backwards. They were thinking of every escape route that they could take to avoid the inevitable confrontation. On the other hand, Amaya was creeping closer to the front door. Sara whispered to her, "Maya, wrong way, we should get out of here."

Maya turned to her shaken cousins; she needed them to snap out of this state, " _No_ , Alphonse is out there. I can sense him."

The severity of this situation shifted again. The three siblings shared the same knot in the pit of their stomachs. They knew Alphonse would be creeping on them one day, but not now and with Uncle Roy. Amaya didn't like the situation either; since she was at the front door, she can see the state of the living room. "Clean this up, now" she commanded through a whisper.

"There is not enough time." Nick retorted.

"We should get out of here," Sara argued.

"I want to meet Alphonse _. It's not fair_. You met Edward." Amaya pointed out.

"Not by choice," Nick whispered angrily. Maya was not taking this seriously.

Maya ignored the protesting and pleading from her cousins when she fearlessly reached for the front door. She opened it too see a frustrated man staring through her. She smiled sweetly at him and the other man who was peering around her. Maya felt like she was being ignored, "Can I help you gentlemen?"

Mustang and Hughes was shifting back and forth to each Richard; the female in front of him and the three blondes who are keeping their distance. Right now, Mustang had a million thoughts running through his head. He thought Fullmetal was the only one in Amestris with gold eyes and gold hair, but he was looking at four new people who have those features. Right now, he wanted the guy who was hiding his face to look up at him. Both of the soldiers stood there dumbfounded.

Alphonse waited long enough for the two soldiers to say something and he had plenty of things to say to the Richards. Alphonse maneuvered his way pass them to the front entrance. He looked down at the pretty and petite Richard and couldn't contain his excitement anymore. "Hi, I'm Alphonse Elric; the younger Elric brother. You must be Amaya Richard."

Amaya smiled brightly at the seven foot armor. Alphonse wished he could smile back at her. "You've heard about me?" that was all she could say.

Al nodded, "Brother wouldn't shut up about you or your cousins."

Hughes finally had something to say, "Really? Cause he won't tell us anything." It was his turn to speak up, "Hello there Miss; I'm Lieutenant Maes Hughes. We're terribly sorry for barging in unannounced, but we really wanted to meet your cousins."

Alphonse saw Sara and Nicholas shared an uh-oh look when Hughes introduced himself. It wasn't the time or place to ask them about it, but he definitely have to put it in the list of questions he had for them. Maya sucked in a breath before she agreed to let the three men into the house, closed the door behind them and asked them to excuse the mess.

Hughes looked at the other Richards, judging by their demeanor, they did not want to get anywhere near them, except for Amaya who was sticking close to Alphonse. He needed to get introductions out of the way, "So, you've heard all of your names. Can I hear everyone else's names?"

The dark-haired girl raised her hand and said, "I'm Amaya Richard."

The younger boy raised his hand and said, "I'm Nicholas Richard."

The blond girl next to him raised her hand and continued, "I'm Sara Richard."

Forty seconds ago, Mustang and Hughes would be drilling her with questions the second she confirmed her name. Now, Mustang was too focused on the older blond for the new information to register to him. Nicholas noticed everyone waiting on his older brother to introduce himself. He muttered, "Brother" to get his attention.

Eric lifted his head to look up at his guests. As long as Eric could remember, everyone told him that he was a splitting image of his father and he can tell by their expressions, they have a good idea who that could be. Mustang nearly lost his balance when Eric stood to his feet; they were nearly eye to eye. Eric tried to grin at Al, but the staring made him uncomfortable. He raised his hand and said, "I'm Eric and I'm the oldest Richard."

Maes choked out the next words, "It's nice to meet all of you. Can one of you explain what that racket was a few seconds ago?"

"We were having a family discussion." Nicholas received a few angry glares for that.

What? The living room looks like an alchemical combat zone. With a second look, he noticed something missing, "Alchemy was used here; where is your transmutation circles?"

The blondes shared a questionable look. Alphonse expected the worst, but thankfully Sara held up her hand and admitted with a fake smile, "Its right here."

In the palm of her hand was a neatly drawn circle drawn in ink. The two boys revealed their hidden circles that were drawn on their arms or hands. Maya had stashed her sword from sight and said, "I didn't use alchemy."

"Who taught you to do that?" Mustang sort of knew the answer already. The reckless mess had a certain alchemist's name written all over it, but he was nowhere near this house.

Eric spoke up, "our Dad did."

Mustang lost his breath. What the hell is going on? Hughes tagged in, "It's funny that you mention your family."

The Richards know where this is going. Hughes asked the inevitable question, "You four are probably related to the Elric Brothers, because you look a lot alike. Al, maybe you know their parents?"

Al was so happy that he couldn't make facial expressions, "Yeah, can you tell me about your father? There is a good chance that I know him."

This is what they prepared for, Sara started first, "His name is Edward Richard and he is an alchemy philosopher."

First follow-up question, "What does he look like?"

Nick pointed his thumb to Eric, "Imagine Brother with a ponytail."

Eric didn't have time to react to that, because the next follow-up question was, "Does he have automail limbs?"

Mustang looked over to Al. That was not a general question; Al knew who their father is. Hughes was watching in disbelief. Eric stared Al in the face and simply answered, "No, he doesn't."

Alphonse didn't have any more questions after that. His mind was somewhere else. Sara waved her hand; she had something in her mind for a while. "Can I ask why military personel barged into our house?"

Hughes and Mustang stiffened with reality crashing down on them. This basically counts as a raid and they did not have a warrant or a permit. The Richards could have their asses for this. Nicholas smiled in to the oblivion while waiting for an answer. He blurted out with a chuckle, "Did we get noise complaints?"

Honestly, Mustang had no idea, but it was a way out. "Yes, it sounded like there was a war going on in here. Try not to solve all your conflicts with alchemy. "He turned to his friend, "I think we should go now. Al, do you need a lift back to the dorms?"

That was a hard question for Al right now. He wished that he could be in two places at the same time. Right now, Al needs to have his own little "discussion" with his older brother. He turned to Amaya and said, "I really wish I could stay, but I have to go talk to my Brother. It was very nice meeting you."

Amaya told him it was okay and was too happy to finally meet him. The soldiers noticed how the atmosphere shifted from stiff and intense to warm and fuzzy when Alphonse made his farewells to all of the Richards. Mustang and Hughes waited on the front porch for him for nearly two minutes when the armor finally came out of the house. The Elric Brothers have a lot of explaining to do.

* * *

Meanwhile, inside of the beige house, the Richards were trying to shake off what just happened. Maya glanced at the door and said, " _Dad_ is mad, but not at us."

Sara noticed that too, "I don't think he wanted Uncle Roy to come in here and he might be mad with Edward."

The armor was way bigger then Nick imagined, "He's HUGE. I feel like a little puny."

The Richards laughed at that, because they all had that feeling, too. However, this was way too serious to laugh off, Eric stated, "Make sure those two don't go near Tempus."

Maya was curious, "Why?"

Nick answered for his brother, "Because that was Lys's and Raymond's dads."

Sara forgot about them. Her eyes widened in panic, "O my gosh, they're going to kill us."

Eric repeated his point, "That's why they can't go to Tempus."

* * *

 **A/N: So, their eye color is not the only thing that the Richards inherited from Fullmetal. What happens when you put three frustrated Edwards in one room?**

 **Maybe in the next chapter, I can tell you where everyone is coming from. Also, there's another argument coming up. ;)**

 _ **A. Leaf**_


	6. Pint-Sized Dad

**A/N: This story is turning into a monster. There are so many things happening at once.**

 **It's so cool that this story is featured in a community. This chapter was possible because of that. Thank you.**

 _ **A. Leaf**_

* * *

 **The Richards Ch. 6**

Pint-Sized Dad

* * *

"Don't lie to me, Alphonse."

Mustang has been spewing out questions about the Richards for the past few minutes. At first, there was an awkward silence between the three of them. Wen they arrived in front of the military dorms, Mustang blurted out, "Who are the Richards and why do they look like Fullmetal?"

The only answer he received from Alphonse was that they are friends of his older brother. Al wasn't paying any attention to either of the soldiers. As soon as Hughes stopped the car, Al hopped out and headed towards his brother's room with unwavering footsteps. They hastily parked the car and rushed after him, but the armor already reached Edward's room.

They heard the young state alchemist yell out in pain and rushed at through the door. Inside the dorm, they found an angry Fullmetal holding his cheek. He screamed at the top of his lungs, "Why did you do that?!"

"Why didn't you tell me about them?!" Al replied just as loud.

"About who?" Edward wasn't up to speed yet.

"The Richards, Edward, we just met them a few moments ago." Hughes answered Ed's question for him.

"You what?!"

Roy chimed in his opinion, "I want to know what's going on here. Who are the Richards?"

Edward glanced back and forth between Mustang and Hughes. He only grew angrier at each of them. "Why did you go to go the Richards' house? They didn't do anything wrong!"

Mustang caught his attitude, "For your information, we wouldn't have known where they lived if it wasn't for Alphonse!"

"What?" Edward glared at his brother for a second before facing the soldiers again. "Don't go near them again without me!"

Hughes was stunned at his behavior. Fullmetal is not this protective over his younger brother. Mustang was too infuriated to see what was happening right in front of him, "Are you giving me orders, Fullmetal?"

Edward kept his hard stare, "They're my friends and there is no reason to interrogate them."

"I should interrogate them, because they're your friends. Something must be wrong with them."

A shadow covered Edward's face and Hughes swore he saw storm clouds forming around him. He growled through his clutched teeth, "What did you just say?"

Hughes shook his head and waved his hands, trying to get gain Edward's attention before he lunge at his best friend. "Hold on, calm down, Edward. You're acting like a…" he trailed off.

Everything clicked in Hughes's head at that moment. He recognized that kind of behavior, because it was his own. "Edward, who do you think the Richards are?"

That question snapped Edward back to sanity. Hughes guess he needed it too lie to him properly, "They're my friends." Hughes wondered if Mustang caught how the Elrics exaggerate the word, friends.

"Really? Because you're acting like an overprotective father," Hughes bluntly stated.

Labeling Fullmetal's behavior explained everything to Mustang, but it also made everything more complicated. He always respected the Elric brothers and how they don't take any nonsense from anyone, but if Maes was implying that…

What the hell, Mustang had to ask, "Fullmetal, Alphonse, do you think that the Richards are your kids from the future?"

Saying that out loud sounded a lot worse, but watched Fullmetal's expression every closely. Ed smirked at him and answered, "No, that's impossible. Have you gone insane, Colonel? I think your workload is finally screwing with your head."

Mustang nearly went off on Fullmetal for the insult until he realized that Ed was trying to change the subject. He had to stay focused, "So, is that a yes?"

Alphonse spoke up that time, "No, Colonel. Remember what they said, their father doesn't have automail limbs. Brother couldn't be their father."

Edward choked on his own spit. He turned to Al and asked, "Well, how did they say it?"

Maes and Roy was just as lost as Al. He asked his brother, "What do you do mean?"

Edward answered back, "Did their tone change midsentence or did they kept a steady voice while they said?"

"What? Why would I keep track of that?"

"That's how you know when their lying."

"You could have told me that before! That would have been very helpful!"

Did the Elric Brothers already forget that there are two other people in the room with them? Mustang reminded them that they are not alone by saying, "Okay, fine, the Richards are your friends. Although I am curious, tell me you met them?"

Mustang noted the stubborn look on Fullmetal's face, "That's an order, Fullmetal."

Edward growled under his breath and started the story, "Fine, it's really a simple story. One night, I wondered into the restaurant where Eric works as a chef and I ended up trying the stew he made from scratch. I went to the back to give him my compliments, but a few employees stopped me to ask if I had an older brother. I told them, no, and walked past them."

"Wait, what was so great about his stew?" Roy interrupted the story.

Edward grimaced at his sudden outburst. He barely forgot about that, "I guess, it was because it reminded me of Granny's stew, but that's not important."

Fullmetal paused for a second to look at Mustang's reaction. The colonel was clearly thinking about something else, but Ed continued his story anyway, "I found Eric out back and I told him that I liked his stew. He thanked me, excused himself, and walked away. That interaction barely lasted twenty seconds. The next day, I tracked him to his house and met his two younger siblings."

Edward was finally done with his story. He noticed that Mustang was still in deep thought. "Were you even listening to me?"

The colonel nodded and said, "Yes, I've heard every word you said and I think my work here is done. Do you need a ride home, Hughes?"

Hughes shot him a look, "I'm not done. I have more questions."

Mustang shrugged at his friends, "I think the Richards should be the least of your concerns, Hughes. Let's go, it's been a long day."

Hughes was torn at that point. He had to make a decision to stay with the Elric Brothers or go with his best friend. Edward's behavior towards the Richards is intriguing, but he had to trust Roy. If something bigger than this is grabbing Roy's attention, he had to know what's bothering him. It's his duty as his best friend.

"Fine," He faced Edward, "This is not over, Edward."

Edward was satisfied to see them go, "Sure it is. The bastard left without you."

Hughes swiveled around to find that the Flame Alchemist already left the dorm room. His first thought was to chase after him and that's exactly what he did. When Hughes rushed out of the room, Edward quickly slammed the door behind and looked at his younger brother again. He nearly forgot that he was mad at him too.

"Why did you take those idiots to the Richards' house, Al?"

"Because you wouldn't take me."

"I was going to take you."

"When?" Al crossed his arms when he said that.

Edward couldn't believe Al. But, this is not about him, "Al, I don't want them around the Richards, at least not without me around."

Al couldn't believe his brother's behavior, "You really do sound like a father."

Fullmetal did not like that word. Edward shrugged off the comment. "So, what do you think about them?"

"They act just like you, Brother, all three of them."

Al watched his brother's speechless expression. He was trying to understand his brother's conclusion about the Richards. All he managed to say was, "Even Nicholas?"

"He's blunt and random."

"That doesn't mean anything."

Al started to remember all of the information that Edward told him earlier, "You also said that Nicholas studies for hours at a time, until he falls asleep on his textbook."

"I never did that," Edward argued.

"You do that all the time! Then you said Eric is either working or sleeping and when he's not, he complains about how incompetent his coworkers are. And Sara received a recommendation to become a state alchemist. They act just like you." Al was paying attention.

Edward didn't know what to say to that. Al knows him better than he knows himself and his opinion had a lot more weight than anyone else. But he had to counter that, "O yeah, well, Amaya acts just like you. She uses her sweet and innocent demeanor as a cover."

"I don't do that! And Amaya's an angel."

"The daggers on the walls only appeared when she moved in. Those had to be hers."

"Well, you should have seen the house when they were all fighting. The living room was completely wrecked."

Edward stopped for a second. That behavior didn't not sound right to him; "I didn't know that fought like that. They may bicker for a few seconds, but that was always it."

An idea popped in the armor's head, "Are you saying that they're on their best behavior when they're around you?"

"No, I'm saying that I never saw them fight before. And Eric doesn't like act just like me, he's a gear-head!"

Al thought he already won that argument, but he couldn't help asking, "He's a what?"

"He's an automail engineer," Ed used the right term that time.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because he asked me if I keep up with my maintenance."

"You never do and don't make him an automail engineer."

"Well, how else could he have known that? He didn't want to look at my arm."

"Because you never take care of your automail limbs, anyone could have known that."

The Elric brothers went on like this for the next hour. Talking about the Richards, made them forget that they were mad at each other. At the end of the conversation, Al stated that he was going back their house with or without his big brother.

* * *

"Why did you leave like that? That was getting interesting." Maes stared down his friend as he drove him home.

He kept thinking of realistic ways the Elrics Brothers could be related to the Richards. Maybe their estranged father had another family that they didn't know about or they could be long lost cousins. Anything, but they're from the future, it's foolish to even consider that.

Roy continued to stare ahead as if he doesn't hear him and he probably doesn't. He's thinking hard about something else. Maes tried to get his attention, "So what did you think of the Richards?"

"From what I saw, they might as well call themselves the Edwards."

Maes gasped at his response, "You, the Flame Alchemist, honestly think that those were the Elric's kids from the future? You probably are going insane."

An angry twitch formed on Roy's head. He has to remember that he is driving a car. "You didn't catch that the Elrics were lying every time they said the Richards were their friends. But, I don't care about that right now; remember how Fullmetal said he met them?"

"Yeah," Maes absentmindedly answered.

"And remember the encounter we had with clerk at the liquor store?"

"Yeah," Maes realized the correlation between the weird events that happened to them and the story on how Edward met the Richards. "O no, you really think that your kid from the future is running around town somewhere?"

Roy had to ignore his sarcasm as he stopped the car in front of Hughes's apartment complex. He's a little surprised with his lack of enthusiasm in this subject. Roy thought he would at least be curious. Roy guessed he had to remind him of something, "Hughes, before you try to commit me into an asylum, remember what you said earlier, 'No one can cook like Gracia, how can you explain that?'"

Hughes was silent for a few seconds. It's just like Roy to use his own words against him. He thought that someone must have copied her recipes or something more practical, not this. "You'll look great in a stray jacket. I bet that you could pull that off."

Roy only half-smiled at his friend. He knows how ridiculous he sounds, but something in his gut was telling him to pursue the small leak. Hughes shook his head one last time before got out of the car. A lot happened today and he can't wait to tell his wife all about it.

"See you tomorrow, Hughes. Tell Gracia I said hi."

"Yeah and tell your son said that we should play catch sometime, since his father is clinically insane."

Roy's rolled his eyes and drove off. How could Hughes ignore something that is staring at him in his face?

* * *

"You should have knocked, Brother, it's rude to barge in like this."

Edward didn't knock or announce that he inside of the house. They could think that their intruders. "Calm down, Al, I do this all the time and keep your voice low, their probably still sleeping."

Al started to whisper, "What? Why did we come this early then?"

"You wanted to, remember?" Ed quickly answered his question.

Al watched his brother drop to a blue couch and lay down. Edward let enough room for his brother to sit next to him. Al realized Edward was falling asleep. He shook one his ankles to keep him awake. "Brother, stay up. What am I going to say to them?"

Edward had to talk through a yawn, "Don't worry about that, Al. Just…"

"Just what?" Al whispered to him, but Edward was already out.

Maybe he shouldn't have kept him up so late. It did give him a minute to look around. The front room was spotless and there were no signs of the four-way brawl that happened last night. However, it made the inside of the house bare and vacant. Al thought the mess he saw last night was homier then this.

One more look around the front room, Al noticed the colors pink and gold and that would be completely out of place. With a second look, he realized that Sara was slowly approaching the couch. She was wearing a light pink pajamas and a weary smile. Al shifted his attention to her, "Good morning, Sara. Did we wake you?"

Sara shook her head and her smile grew a little wider. "No. I've been up for a while now and I heard the two of you come in."

Alphonse felt embarrassed, "Sorry, for barging in unannounced. Brother insisted that we didn't have to knock."

Al hesitated when Sara balled her hands into fists, but she used her fists to hide her growing grin. She kept her eyes on Edward the whole time. "Did he fall asleep already?"

The armor glanced at his motionless brother, "I think so. He must have been tired."

Sara crept closer to the couch, still hiding her wide smile. She was obviously distracted, "Alphonse, can I give your brother a hug?"

Barely any one said his name so formally and that must have been the most bizarre question anyone asked about his brother. Also, Ed's knocked out, "You don't need my permission, but he's sleeping."

Sara made a beeline towards Edward and immediately engulfed him in her arms. She rested his head on her shoulder and squeezed him before replying, "I don't care. He can't protest in his sleep."

Al watched her expression change as she continued her explanation, "Also, Nick wouldn't let me hug him in his sleep. He said it was too weird."

Nicholas, her younger brother; it seems like that they bicker over the silliest things. He knows what that feels like. He decided to keep the conversation on Edward for now. "Why do you Brother hug all of the time?"

"I don't hug Edward all the time." She retorted.

Al had the strangest feeling of déjà vu. Instead of pointing out the obvious, he decided to ignore that comment. "Ok, but you two are very close, right?"

Sara froze for a moment and stared at the armor. She was sitting on the floor in front of the couch where the Elric Brothers were resting comfortably. Sara glanced at Edward on more time and said, "This little alchemist have no idea how much he means to me and please don't tell him that I called little."

"Your secret is safe with me."

A quick giggle session was interrupted by a knock on the door. Sara immediately rose to her feet and started towards the door. Alphonse was curious, "Do you know who that is?"

With one hand on the door, Sara faced Al and shrugged her shoulders, "No clue."

Sara swiftly opened the door to find no one was there. She waited a few seconds for anyone to jump out at her, but that never happened. It could have been a prank. She turned to Al again and said, "It was nothing."

Al pointed to toward her feet and said, "Look at that."

"Huh,"

A second look, she found a display of marigolds at the door step. The flowers were placed in a crystal vase and it was nearly two feet high. Sara gently lifted it and closed the door with her foot, but it was a lot heavy than she thought. It took a lot of effort to get it off the ground.

Al was on his feet, too. The gold flowers enough to brighten up the dim living room and draw anyone to it. Also, he could see Sara struggling with the massive vase. She quickly handed it over to him. Sara perked up, "There's a card."

She snatched a little card from the flowers and opened it. She stared at it for a moment with a blank face. Al couldn't wait, "What does it say?"

"Don't know, but it's for Amaya."

"Huh," That statement did not make sense. However, Al did not want to hold the flowers anymore. He quickly set it down on the coffee table.

"Look," She held so he could see.

Al could not read the card either. There must have been at least a paragraph handwritten in Xingese. "Amaya is the only here who speaks Xingese. It must be for her."

"Do have any idea who could have sent it?" A strange feeling was forming in the armor.

"Nope; none of us is dating. It could be a secret admirer."

"But that's not good."

"What's not good?" A calmer, softer voice cut through everything.

The two alchemists turned to Amaya. They were caught talking about her, but she smiled sweetly at both of them. Her hair was in two long braids and she looked too cute. Sara nearly hopped over to her to hand her the card.  
"Look, look; you have a secret admirer. What does this say? You have to translate it."

"Okay," anything to get her to stop bouncing. Maya took the card and scanned over it. A few long seconds later, she balled the card up with one hand.

Here comes the moping, "What, why did you do that you do that? What about that guy? Did you like what the card said at all?"

"No."

"No? What do you mean, 'no'?"

"The poem used the word gold three times and the word rare two times."

The explanation ceased Sara's behavior. There was an unspoken understanding between the Richard girls and somehow, those two simple words had something to do with it. Whatever it was, Al did not like the sudden shift of atmosphere.

He glanced at the culprit which is a vibrant bouquet of marigolds, whoever sent those have to do better than that. "Well, at least the flowers are nice."

"I guess so," Maya quickly agreed. He always finds the light in a situation.

And Sara always changes the subject, it usually works with her Dad, "Alphonse, did you know that Amaya has a little sister?"

"You have a little sister?! And you're just now telling me?! What's her name?! What does she look like? Where is she?"

Watching Alphonse overreact was too precious. Sara can respond a lot quicker than Maya can, "Her name is Ava and she is the youngest Richard. So, she's the baby. She's so cute. She looks like a miniature Amaya, but with shorter hair. It used to be really long like hers. Hold on, why did she cut it? "

The floor was now Maya's, "Something about being tired of the 'baby' title and always being compared to me. She's sixteen."

Edward started to grumble in his sleep. Sara thought it was because the choice words in their conversation. She beckoned everyone to gather in the kitchen and hopefully away from Ed's unconscious hearing. However, both of the Richard girls knew that this conversation was far from over.

Alphonse can imagine Ava already, but one question the girls forgot to answer. Al had to remind them, "But, why isn't she living here with everyone else?"

Sara couldn't answer that. Amaya had to step in that time, "Ava was planning to move in with me, but at the last minute, she changed her mind."

Not enough information, "And where is she now?"

"Main House,"

"What's Main House?"

Sara thought quickly, "Think of it as our vacation house. It's kind of a weird house in the middle of nowhere, but don't worry about her, she has a lot of people there to keep her company."

Alphonse wondered if Edward ever heard of Main House. Things were getting a lot more interesting. Too many scenarios were forming in his head about the mysterious house and the people inside it. So many questions he wanted to ask bluntly, like the address. He noticed the girls started prepping for breakfast.

Maya asked him as sweetly as she could, "Do you want to help us make breakfast?"

He couldn't say no to her, "Of course I do."

* * *

"Looks who up," Sara happily announced.

Eric and Edward woke up when the smell of strawberry pancakes filled the small house. Both of them followed the smell into the kitchen were they found a small mountain of fluffy pancakes already done. They shared the same look of disorientation. Sara knew that they only needed a fresh cup of coffee and she already had two mugs waiting for them.

Eric's and Edward's faces did light up after they finished the coffee. Eric spoke first, "Morning, what smells so good?"

"Strawberry pancakes," Al answered cheerfully.

"Where did the marigolds come from?" that was the first thing the state alchemist noticed when he woke up.

The three cooks exchanged looks. They nearly forgot about the flowers and that awkward conversation. But he did ask and Al answered, "Someone left them for Maya."

Edward frowned, "Do you know who?"

Sara shook her head, "He did not leave a name and Princess destroyed the card."

Ed's eyes shifted to Amaya in a second. To everyone's surprise, he smirked and said, "Good, if you haven't, I would have. I wish that guy would have stayed here so I could punch him in the face."

Everyone exhaled with a drop of sweat. Eric kept his eye on his little sister; he wanted to see her response to that comment. To his surprise, she started to grin. Amaya broke the silence by grabbing the display of pancakes and said, "We should eat while their still warm."

The two teenagers followed her out of the kitchen. Sara caught her brother's stare and glared back at him, "What?"

"If Dad said that, you would have thrown a fit." Eric kept his voice low.

Sara responded under her breathe, "When Fullmetal says it, it's cute."

Eric rolled his eyes and let his younger sister walk past him. He is going to need more coffee to get through the rest of the morning. He heard the chatter that came from inside the dining room. He quickly realized that Nicholas wasn't up yet. Great, waking him is always a hassle.

After another cup of coffee, Eric stealthy made his way past the busy dining room table. But nothing gets past Edward Elric, "Aren't you going to eat?"

Eric looked at Fullmetal, he already had six pancakes stacked in front of him. Eric pointed his room and said, "Someone's missing here."

Edward didn't realize that Nicholas wasn't up yet. He must have been distracted by the marigolds that were placed on the dining table in front of him. He rose from his seat and said, "You come and eat, I'll wake him up."

Eric raised an eyebrow, "Nick's a heavy sleeper and he's crabby in the morning."

 _Who does that remind me of?_ Al sarcastically thought to himself.

"He actually slept through an earthquake," Sara added in.

The state alchemist wasn't hesitant, "I think that I can handle it. You have to eat something."

Eric didn't mind shifting the responsibility over to Fullmetal. It's not like he could talk him out of it. Trying to convince Fullmetal not to do something is like talking to a four-foot brick wall. Eric obediently sat at the table as Edward went to wake up Nick.

However, Alphonse was a little curious, "Why didn't you try to change his mind?"

Eric glanced at the armor. It's a little weird how enormous he is, but the girls didn't seem too bothered by it. Eric smirked and said, "I had a better chance teaching a cat to bark."

The front room was filled of the sound three people snickering. Honestly, Eric is still a little burned out from arguing with his Dad through his teenage years.

* * *

What was he doing here? The state alchemist can't seem to walk away from the little beige house. Since Alphonse is here, he doesn't have to lie to him anymore. But, Al wanting to be too, only cements his own theory about the Richards. Everything about this situation is highly superstitious.

Fullmetal is going to shrug it off and go wake up Nicholas so he could eat breakfast. That doesn't mean anything, does it?

He barged into the bedroom, knowing that Nick is still sleep. He walked up to the bed, placed on his light gold hair, and started to shake it. "Wake up, breakfast is ready." Ed is casually said.

"Mmmmmm," Nick moaned into his pillow.

Edward shook his head a little harder, "Come on, and get up."

Nick popped his head up and drowsily stared at Edward through his bangs. After a second, he yawned and said, "Fine, I'm getting up _Pint-Sized Dad._ "

"What did you say?"

Nicholas sat up and stretched. He still half asleep and he didn't realize what he just said, "O that was Xingese. When you're around Princess long enough, you pick up a few words."

"Okay, so what does that mean?"

A devilish smile spread on Nick's face as he answered, "It means young alchemist."

That was the weakest lie yet, "So, Amaya says young alchemist all the time in Xingese?"

Nicholas got up from the bed and head towards the door. He reassured Ed that his lie was true, but had to stop himself from laughing when he did. Edward eventually asked Maya if it was true and she said that the phrase did mean young alchemist. The dining room table had a good laugh about that during breakfast.

The rest of the morning was very quick. Edward was shocked to hear about Amaya's younger sister. She assured them that they can meet her soon. Eric had to convince Edward that there were no more Richards running around, but Eric said, "At that moment, there are no more Richards."

There is something they're not telling them. It was past nine o'clock and it was time for everyone to get to work. If Edward did not have to check in with the colonel, he would have followed the Richards to Tempus Theater.

The Elric Brothers were walking back to Central Headquarters in silence for a mile before Alphonse bluntly asked, "Is it always like that around them?"

"Yeah,"

"They're our kids from the future."

"I know," Edward felt a little better now. For the past week, he's been questioning his sanity.

"But, but, how is that even possible? How did they time travel? Why did they time travel? Are there more people from the future here? Should I start studying Xingese now?"

"For a few days, I thought they were here for you, until I met Amaya. And good luck getting those questions answered, Al. They're experts at keeping their cover."

"Except for being as obvious as the color of our coat"

Edward glanced at his bright red coat and shrugged, "Yeah, except for that."

* * *

This must have been a new low for the Mustang crew. Instead of investigating the controversy in the government, Hawkeye, Breda and Havoc is scoping a liquor store. A liquor store. What could the colonel want from a simple liquor store? Besides, beer.

"Do you think he is going insane?" Havoc asked Hawkeye for the sixth time in two hours.

"I think that you should follow your orders, Havoc." Riza said for the eighth time.

She didn't want to leave Mustang unattended, but he insisted that she should go with Havoc and Breda. This mission is the strangest one yet and it is very random. They have to watch out and observe three teenagers who walk into the store. An Ishvalan teenager, a short girl with short hair, and Mustang couldn't give a description of the third one. Too many unanswered questions.

"This has to be the dumbest mission yet. What could Colonel want with a bunch of teenagers?" Havoc could not stop complaining.

Riza was about to scold him again for whining, when she spotted Breda inside the aisle. He was supposed to keep watch outside of the store, being inside meant that the teenagers that match the description were spotted. Breda bobbed his head in the direction of the two teenagers who were casually walking through the store.

They matched the description perfectly. An Ishvalan teenager was wearing an all-black school uniform. His silver hair was tied in a high ponytail. Next to him was a short girl with ebony hair that stopped at her shoulders and her ebony hair contrasted with her ivory skin. She was wearing a girl's school uniform. It's a good thing that they are wearing uniforms; the team could pinpoint their schools now.

The mission basically started. Riza and Havoc creped a little closer to them to eavesdrop on their conversation, while Breda went back outside to watch for cover or possibly the third teenager.

"He's being completely crazy, right now. How are we supposed to get him something if he's not here to pick it out?" The Ishvalan's voice was clearly one of an obnoxious teenager.

"He may have a good reason, Mike." The girl's voice was very high pitched.

"Yeah, the reason is: he's crazy. It's just a corner store. What could he be so afraid of?"

The two teenagers picked up a few items and walked to another section of the store. That means that it was time to move again. But, the short girl looked over her shoulder and caught Riza's stare. In a situation like that, she would have looked away and acted distracted. However, in that situation, she was caught completely off guard by the girl's golden eyes.

Thankfully, the Ishvalan was still oblivious to the situation, so he continued his venting, "I mean we drove all the way out here from Tempus…"

"Shut up," the girl interrupted him.

"What? Aren't you irritated with Ray…?"

"Shut up," this time the girl stomped on the Ishvalan's foot to get her point across. He started to hop on his good foot and she leaned closer to him to whisper something.

The Ishvalan quickly leaned back and yelled, "What?!"

The girl put a finger to her lips and shushed him again. Then she pushed Mike to the direction of the closest register. Who is she? She caught on that they were being watched very quickly. What's with her eyes? Is she related to the Elric Brothers? Are these the right kids?

Riza was becoming more interested with very second and so was Havoc. They walked a little closer to the teenagers again, just enough to hear their conversation with the store clerk. Riza used Havoc to hide herself, since she's been caught once.

After the clerk was done with the purchase, he asked the two kids, "Hey, where's your friend, the pale boy with the dark hair? His older brother is looking for him."

"Older brother?" They asked in unison.

"Yeah, the one from the military, he's a little sad that he lost contact with him and wants to reconnect. Isn't that great? A brotherly bond is something, isn't it?" The store clerk smiled at them.

The demeanor of the Ishvalan changed after the comment. He rushed out of the store with the small bag of junk food clenched to his chest. After a few minutes, Breda came back and told them.

"They left, but there was a third party. The Ishvalan teenager was talking to someone in the car who was hiding. The third teenager must have known we were here. How is that possible?"

Breda was in shock. Everyone was in disguise and no one knew of the mission. Somehow, he felt like that he was out smarted by an unidentified teenage boy. Riza could still see the small girl's golden glare. And Havoc, quickly realized that the military big brother had to be Mustang. What's going on?

* * *

Michael nearly left Ava behind when he rushed out of the liquor store. He was behind the wheel of Lys's borrowed car and staring ahead when he asked, "Uh, Raymond, do you have an older brother?"

"No."

At that moment, Mike saw a fat guy that he did not recognize studying him. His upper body became numb and responded, "Yeah, I thought so. Stay down."

He turned the car on and drove as quickly as he could. He was freaking out, "Why didn't you tell me that we were being watched?"

"I did," Ava stepped in.

Mike shook his head, "No, Raymond knew that they were in there, that's why he refused to leave the car. You could have given us a heads up, geez."

Raymond defended himself, "I recognized one guy and I knew he would recognize me, so I didn't go in. I didn't know that there were more people inside the store. Besides, you're the one had to go to that store."

Raymond's voice was stern up to the last sentence. Mike debated back, "If you had told me that it was crawling with military personnel, who were looking for us! I would have picked another one!"

Ava knew that another fight was about to happen. It was one of the things that Michael and Raymond did together. Most of the times, the fights would be funny to watch. This was different. This was more serious.

* * *

 **A/N: So, most of the Richards quirks came from their parents.** **And Amaya's little sister, Ava. Her personality did not come from her father.** **Also, Raymond already has a few common traits with his father. I wonder if you caught that. Raymond is not a dumb kid. Roy has to put a little more effort into finding him.**

 **Another thing, kids act differently around their parents. You'll see that later when Mustang starts poking his nose in this situation.**

 **I needed to do the part with Alphonse and the Richards. Al was able to spot his brother's behavior and vice versa. It was too cute. Not only do the Richards treat Fullmetal like a father-figure; Ed unknowingly accepted the position.**

 **There might be more Richards later, it completely depends on how the story progresses. Right now, I think I have enough characters to keep track of. Besides, there are a lot more awkward interactions coming up. Think about it. Hughes automatically assumed that he would know Raymond, for example.**

 _ **A. Leaf**_


	7. Welcome to Tempus

**The Richards Ch. 7**

Welcome to Tempus

* * *

That was the most random and strangest mission that Mustang ever gave. Strange enough, because of the missing third teenager, it had to count as an inconclusive. It would have been a simple if the last teenager would have gotten out of the car with his friends. Now, what are they supposed to tell the state alchemist? One of the teenagers outsmarted them.

"Tempus…" Havoc repeated the word in his head. He swears he heard that name before.

There wasn't a grade school in town with that name. A quick check of records confirmed that. Havoc tried going over all of the different scenarios where he could have possibly heard that unusual name before. Suddenly, he could hear Chief saying it.

"Tempus, Tempus Theater!" Havoc shot up from his seat. He turned to Breda and commanded, "There is a show in the middle of town named Tempus Theater. Maybe that's what that Ishvalan kid was talking about."

Breda fumbled through the phone book that was on his desk. Since he was looking in the correct section with the full name, he was able to find the address and phone number fairly quickly. Breda pointed his index finger on the name and said, "Here it is, Tempus Theater. We can call them now."

Hawkeye was watching the two soldiers at work. This is a new low; even for them. Still, she could still feel the golden glare from the small girl. She needs to remind herself to ask the Elric Brothers if they have any relatives. That girl has to be related to them somehow.

"Who wants to do the honors?" Havoc was standing over one of the office phones and waving a receiver in one hand.

Hawkeye rose from her seat, "I'll do it."

Havoc raised an eyebrow at the sudden response. The next question was normal, "Do you have any idea what is going on, Hawkeye?"

"No," she snatched the receiver from his hand and quickly dialed the theater's number.

The sniper didn't know every detail in the Flame Alchemist's life. However, if something was bothering him, she would be one of the first people to pick up on it. Since going out with Hughes last night, Mustang has been distant and distracted. The three teenagers are the first clue to finding out what's eating him.

The dial tone turned into low chimed ringing. Good, the number went through. Hawkeye put the receiver to her ear and waited. The ringing finally stopped and another voice greeted her from the other end of the line, "Tempus Theater, place of timeless wonder. How can I help you?"

Hawkeye stopped breathing for five seconds. She turned to the double doors that were the entrance of Mustang's office. It's ten in the morning, he should be in there right now, but it sounds like he is on the other end of the line. "Hello?" the voice asked.

Hawkeye held the receiver tight and demanded with a strong tone, "This is First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye and I command that you state your identity immediately."

The rest of the crew jumped at her drastic change, but they did not hear the voice on the end of the line. Hawkeye stood there in shock, staring at Mustang's office doors. She carefully listened for the mysterious voice to reply, instead there were low back and forth arguing. Finally, she heard someone one the phone asked, "Hello, anybody there?"

The voice was different; it wasn't the first person she talked to, but she did recognize it. "Are you an Ishvalan teenager?"

The young man stumbled on his next words. He was obviously stunned with the sudden question. It has to be the same teenager that she saw earlier. The voice eventually spoke up, "Um, actually, I have my mother's Amestian blue eyes and I never met my father. So your guess is as good as anybody's."

Did the Ishvalan teen have blue eyes? She didn't get a good look at his face in the store; he could have. Still he is not who she wanted to talk to, "Can you put your friend on the phone?"

"My friend? O you mean…ow. What was that for?!"The teenager was obviously distracted.

The arguing grew louder; eventually a female voice intervened and yelled at the two unknown teenagers for answering the phone in the first place. All Hawkeye could do was wait patiently for someone to talk into the receiver again. After two minutes of waiting, the female voice finally greeted her, "Hello, Tempus Theater, who is this?"

"I'm First Lieutenant Hawkeye, who is this?"

"Riza?" The female voice was flabbergasted, "Uh, um, why are calling this theater?"

How does she know my first name? Why did she address me so casually? Hawkeye should be questioning her, but that could come later. "Can you put the teen that I was talking to back on the phone? I want to talk to him."

"Who Michael?"

That was the Ishvalan's name, need to remember that, "No, the other one."

"O…" Judging by the tone of voice, this girl obviously knew something. "Well, he's currently sprinting away from the phone right now. Can I leave a message for him?"

Riza didn't like being played. Something was going out, but she couldn't do much over the phone, "Yes, tell him that I am looking for him."

"On what grounds, Lieutenant? You can't interrogate innocent teenaged civilians who are not a threat to society or themselves" The unidentified female changed her tone, because she knew what she was talking about.

Hawkeye stopped for a few seconds, because the only reasons she had at that time was because she wanted to and Mustang told her to investigate which wouldn't hold up in a legal lawsuit. It was obvious that she knew that, too. Usually, mentioning her military ranking would be enough to shake information out of a normal civilian; unless, the civilian has a status of their own.

"What's your name, solider?"

"I'm Lieutenant…" the woman abruptly stopped. What was going through her head at that moment? She sounded so confident and direct before she stopped herself.

"My name is Sara Richard and I am the current manager of Tempus Theater. I'm sorry that I could not be a big help right now, but this place is very busy trying to get ready for the showing tonight and I do not have time to talk." The phone line went down after the statement.

Sara Richard? That must be Ed's Sara. It didn't surprise Hawkeye that she had something to do with all of this and it wasn't a coincidence. It was about time that she reported in to the colonel anyway.

"Go get the colonel." Riza demanded the soldiers that stood there.

They wanted a little more information than that. All of three soldiers were in a state of shock, confusion, and curiosity. Maybe the colonel could give a little insight. Havoc knocked on the office doors three times and stated through the door, "Colonel, we have our status report on the under the table mission you sent us on."

The marron doors swiftly swung when Havoc finished the last word. Mustang stared at his subordinate with wide eyes. "Well, what did he look like?"

"Who?" Havoc didn't know what he was talking about.

"The kid! What did the kid look like?" Mustang couldn't hold back his enthusiasm.

Havoc never seen Mustang so worked up before and it was a little scary. Breda sensed the awkwardness in the room and spoke up, "There was a young Ishvalan male around his mid-teenage years with a high ponytail and a young, short Xingese girl with short hair."

An Ishvalan teen and a short girl with short hair; Mustang heard those descriptions before. That wasn't the teenager he was interested in. "And the third one?"

"That's it; only two teenagers walked into the store and the third one couldn't be found." Breda didn't want to tell him exactly what happened.

Mustang's excitement left his voice. The plan he had in his head was simple. Instead of telling them the strange phenomenon, show them, they become on board, and maybe get some help with investigations. It would have worked if their simple mission was completed properly.

Still, there were too many scenarios that could have happened, "Then how do you those were the right kids? There could have been couple of teenagers that could have strolled into that liquor store."

Havoc had an explanation for that, "When those two certain teenagers went to check out, the clerk asked them, 'where is your friend, the pale boy with dark hair? His older brother is looking for him. Care to explain, big brother."

Mustang was frustrated at that point, "If you three had seen all of them, the reason would have been clear. Is there anything other information you could report?"

Hawkeye didn't know if this information was relatable or not, but it was more information, "The Ishvalan and the Xingese girl both had unusual eye color. It wouldn't be hard to track them down. We already have a lead, Tempus Theater. If finding the missing kid means so much to you, we could check it out after your paperwork is done for the day." All of this could be a ploy to distract him; have to make sure.

Mustang was in deep thought. Hawkeye can tell, because mentioning his work would send him into a different state of mind. He stood there completely focused on a subject matter. "I'm going to take a wild guess that one of the unusual eye colors is gold, isn't it?"

Havoc and Breda didn't look at their eye color and isn't Chief the only known person in Amestris with gold eyes. The whole team conducted an entire study to prove that fact just to mess with him. Hawkeye had to give his credit; she quietly nodded.

Mustang huffed and looked away; he was imaging or reliving something. "A Xingese girl with gold eyes; I should have known that this would lead back to them." He shook his head and wondered back to his office.

Havoc asked into the confused silence, "Do anyone know what that's all about?"

"No clue," Breda answered, "maybe Chief is involved."

Havoc was intrigued now, "maybe it has to do with his new girlfriend, Sara Richard."

"Wanna put some money on it? I bet you that Chief know who the missing teenager is." Breda couldn't shake the feeling that an Elric is involved somehow.

Havoc had that feeling to, but they don't know that Sara works at Tempus Theater. "I bet that we will run into Sara Richard while we look for the kid."

"You're on."

* * *

"NEVER answer the phone again, IDIOTS!" Sara yelled through the empty hallway. The theater was completely empty and her voice echoed through the backstage corridors and could be heard in the stadium.

She grabbed a chunk of her hair and tugged on it. "What else could go wrong?" she muttered under her breathe.

"We just got another shipment of flowers, Sister!" Nick's cheerful attitude wasn't helping.

"That was supposed to be a rhetorical question, Nick." Her frustrated stare looked on the seemingly innocent and lovely display of flowers. She pointed to it in disgust and said, "That's the eleventh one in three hours. This is guy is obsessed with Maya. We should report this."

"It's just flowers, Sister." Nick set the multicolored display next to the others, "There is no need to be alarmed."

"This," she gestured to the large collection of flowers, "could be the work of a stalker. We have to keep a close eye on Maya this evening."

Nick rolled his eyes, "I'm sure that Uncle Al won't let anything happen to her and we both know that Princess doesn't frighten that easily either."

Actually, the mysterious admirer should be more afraid of Princess when she's mad. They all should be.

A huge realization dawned on Sara when Nick finished his statement. Having Alphonse around fixed one problem, but the Elric Brothers will be there, with them, and with everybody else. She swiveled around and beeline towards the kitchen.

"Lys, we need to talk about the Elric Brothers. They're going to be here tonight to enjoy the show, because all of the Richards will be here. I should give you a few tips on how to talk to him." Sara was rambling again, but she was nervous about Fullmetal coming and staying there.

Lys looked up from the oven. She was checking on a batch of homemade cookies that was still coming. It was natural for Sara to feel concerned about the subject matter, but this time, she shouldn't worry about that. "I've known Edward longer than you, Sara; I don't need tips to talk to him."

"Sara has a point," A voice came out of nowhere.

Sara jumped in place and turned to the direction of the voice. "What are you doing here? Don't you have to go to work?"

Eric stared back at his sister in disbelief, "I've been here the whole time. Who do you think set the stage? Besides, I took the day off from the restaurant."

Sara shook her head, trying to avoid the confrontation with her big brother; that could wait. She turned her attention to Lys again. "I'll get to you, Brother. But Lys, you have to be very careful around Fullmetal. He's already suspicious of you."

"What did I do?" Lys asked slightly concerned.

Eric was intrigued by this topic, too. With all the work of setting the stage and finding a place for all of the unwanted flowers, he didn't think about what would happen once the Elric Brothers got here.

"He recognized you. He couldn't place a name, but he might in time. Maybe you should change your hair color," Sara was throwing suggestions.

Eric chimed in after his sister, "That's a good idea, don't give away hints of your family life or future events and don't let him interrogate you."

Sara continued on with list, "Also, no baby talk, minimize physical contact, and he doesn't want to hear how adorable he is."

Eric turned to his younger sister to scold her, "Are you taking this seriously?"

"Yes, I am. She needs to know this stuff." Sara retorted back.

"But," Lys's voice stopped another argument. She formed words from a high-pitched squeal, "but, he's so cute. He could fit in my lap."

"Really?" Eric moaned at Lys.

Sara joined in. "I know. He's adorable and he acts just like Dad, but instead of…you know,"

She held her hand out trying to imitate Edward's height. Lys raised one eyebrow in response and said, "Really, I thought that he was shorter."

"He's was farther away from you, that's why."

Eric rolled his eyes and made one last decree, "Remember Lys, your name is not Elysia Hughes anymore. It's Lysa Huller."

"I know, Eddie, I can handle the Elric Brothers." The brunette woman sweetly smiled at him.

"It's Eric, now. And Sara, he's this short." Eric's estimation was a few inches shorter then Sara's.

Sara's glare meant that was the start of another sibling feud. Lysa turned her attention back to the red velvet cookies that were nearly baked to perfection. This recipe was one of her childhood favorites and Raymond's favorites. He's been acting strange since this morning, but won't tell her why. This usually makes him open up.

* * *

"Edward! Alphonse! Welcome to Tempus!' Sara's greeted them from ten feet away.

"Hey" The teenage state alchemist and suit of armor watched as the Richards approached them.

Michael watched the display from earshot away. He looked at all of them very confused. When he noticed Nicholas behind him, he nudged him to get his attention. Michael kept his voice as small as he could and asked Nike, "I don't know what's going on. Who is that over there?"

Nike followed his finger over to the Elric Brothers. His response was very quick, "It's the Elric Brothers; you probably don't recognize them."

Michael frowned and explained himself, "I know who the Elrics are. I'm talking about the blonde girl that's prancing around Edward right now. Who the hell is that? I've never seen her before."

Nike glanced at his sister and finally understood that Mike is being sarcastic, "That's what Sara acts like when she's around Edward. I know, she's completely different now."

It all made sense, sort of, Mike turned to look at the loving display and quickly asked, "How long are they going to stay here?"

"As long as they want," Nike retorted.

"Good. Will the same thing work on Little Miss Daggers?" That was Mike's second question.

"I don't know. You want to find out?" Nike crossed his arms as he watched the half-Ishvalan's expression.

He turned around with a smirk and said, "I'll go get her."

* * *

"So, Colonel, care to explain?" Havoc was becoming very concerned about all the secrecy.

Hawkeye has no idea what is going on, he could see it in her eyes. She was scanning every inch of the vacant arena trying to find a clue about what's driving the colonel insane. Actually, since Hawkeye first called this place, she's been distracted.

The theater was nice. The inside of it is newly decorated. All of the seats were lined with red linen and there were wooden carvings on the ceilings. Wasn't this place a dump a few months ago? That doesn't mean that we should be snooping around here.

"Hello, Colonel? Can you tell me what I am looking for?" He watched the state alchemist creep towards the stage.

The Flame Alchemist shot him a warning look and replied, "We're looking for signs of anyone here. I can hear people and music from the back."

"Yeah, that's not surprising. Those are probably actors rehearsing for the showing tonight." Havoc sarcastic attitude was getting on Mustang's nerves.

"I telling you to trust me and investigate further. You don't hear Hawkeye complaining do, you do? Follow your orders, soldier." Mustang tried getting his subordinate under control. It wasn't working.

"Orders? You mean like the one you had today. I feel like a creep spying on those kids. We could got into a lot of trouble for that and I'm not going to be incarnated for this." Havoc's voice was more irritating by the word.

How the hell Fullmetal got Alphonse on board with this craziness? Getting his own team interested without any complaining was a lot more difficult then he thought. He went to his other tactic. Sadly, Havoc was all too familiar with this trick too.

"What are going to do with that?" Havoc sarcastically asked at he stared at the ignition glove.

"Are you still talking back?" The Flame Alchemist took a step forward, ready to snap.

Hawkeye wasn't fazed by the stand-off, because it happens nearly every other week. There will be a different reason every time, and Havoc is usually the one who challenges him. No one ever gets hurt. A loud snap cut through the dense atmosphere.

The whole arena lit up with one fireball that lazily missed Havoc by a foot. It dissolved into the air shortly after it did. Before Hawkeye could respond, a hidden but familiar voice screeched, "Whoa that is too cool!"

The three soldiers froze to find where the voice came from. No one was in the arena other than them. The bright red stage curtain wasn't disturbed at all. After a few seconds of scanning the room, the mysterious voice said, "Uh-oh,"

Suddenly, Hawkeye turned to metal vent in the corner.

* * *

Michael wondered around the backstage trying to find Little Miss Daggers. He eventually found her in a small room in the basement. Ava was standing on an oak dresser and staring out of the metal vent. When he approached her, she immediately snapped her head around and shushed him.

Mike stared back, puzzled, "I didn't say anything."

"Shh!" Ava pressed a finger to her lips. She gestured to the vent and said, "Raymond's dad is here. He's in the arena."

Mike immediately forgot what he was going to say. He climbed on top of the dresser with her. He is not comfortable being that close to him, but he had to see the infamous Flame Alchemist. To his surprise, he looks exactly like Raymond, only older.

"He's a bigger Raymond," he whispered to Ava.

" _I know._ It's weird." Ava responded back in a low whisper.

Ava and her older sister are bilingual, so they could start speaking Xingese mid-sentence. It didn't matter to Michael or Raymond if she did, because of their schooling; they're fluent in Xingese too. It's one of the reasons why the three of them bounded so easily.

The two teenagers watched the Flame Alchemist and another guy argue for a few moments, "Flame sounds like Raymond, too."

"I don't hear it." Ava whispered back.

"Well, you never heard him when he's mad," Mike pointed out.

That was true. Raymond was very mature and timid for his age. He rarely lashes out at anybody, except for Michael. Raymond once said it was because he annoys him. It only made it more fun for Michael.

" _Hey,_ Ava, do you know why he's called the Flame Alchemist?"

" _I don't know."_

Mike heard rumors that it was because of his temper or relentless quest for power, but those are just metaphors. He figured it had something to do with his alchemy. Suddenly, they both witnessed the Flame Alchemist snap his fingers and create a fire ball out of thin air.

Mike turned into a ten year old again, as he jumped in place and yelled, "Whoa that is too cool!"

The air intensified in the room as the two watched the soldiers become aware that someone is watching them. Michael and Ava carefully got from the dresser. It was way to quiet out there that could only mean one thing. "Uh-oh," Mike couldn't help himself.

" _Idiot,_ " Ava mocked him with a whisper.

" _Hey,_ they probably didn't hear me." Mike tried to calm her down. It's not fun when Ava's angry.

Another snap came from the arena. The vent that separated the room started to smoke heavily. Mike already knew what Ava was thinking. He could tell by the look on her face. He shoved his hand in his pocket and said, "I have an idea."

The poor vent melted off of the wall and crashed down onto the cabinet. The smoke started fade away, but there were no mistaking the foul stench. Three faces appeared in the hole where the metal vent used to be. The first thing they saw were two teenagers playing cards.

They were on the far end of the room, sitting at a small round table. The two teenagers stared into their hand of cards while ignoring the solders. "Do you have any threes, Ava?"

"Goldfish," Ava responded casually.

Mike reached for the deck and pulled the top card. They could feel the stares from the other side of the room. A few moments went by before one of the soldiers spoke, "Excuse me, can one of you kids help us?"

The two teenagers suddenly turned to the soldiers. The Ishvalan gasped, "Hi there, I didn't notice you guys."

Everyone knew that he was the one who were yelling a few minutes ago. The two teenagers rose from their chairs very alert. Mike's eyes narrowed as he studied Hawkeye, then he quickly looked at Mustang and back to Hawkeye. His eye widened and mouthed the word, oh.

"What are you thinking about right now?" Havoc spoke faster than the other two. They were too busy trying to figure out what is on his mind.

Mike shrugged at the question, "It's just… Well, um, do you know the wonderful feeling when everything made sense? I just had a huge realization less than five seconds ago."

" _Shut up, you talk too much_ ," Ava warned him.

"Can you fill us in?" Mustang finally spoke up. He watched their shocked expressions with interest. "I have a few questions for the both of you."

"Well, of course, Mr. Flame. Is there anything I could help you with? The show doesn't start until eight pm."

Well, that was one question answered, "Please, call me Mustang." The kids flinched or stiffened whenever he talked. These might be the right kids, "Can you tell me about the actors that work here?"

"I can do that," a meddling voice cut into the private conversation; "I am the manager."

Havoc and Mustang instantly recognized the voice. Havoc whispered to Hawkeye, "Have you ever seen Sara Richard before?"

The famous Sara Richard, this will be the first time that Hawkeye seen her. A sound of high heels approached and Hawkeye saw a figure wearing a red sweater, black pants, and black heeled boots came into to the room. The blonde woman had her hair bound in a single braid that drooped over her shoulder. Her gold eyes glared at them with her arms folded. What. The. Hell?

"What did you do to my wall?" Her voice was laced with anger and frustration.

"Miss Richard, what a wonderful surprise," the colonel's friendly sarcasm got him two side eye stares. He could easily see that Havoc and Hawkeye completely immobilized. He had a similar experience last night.

Honestly, it wasn't a surprise or wonderful and Roy swears he's seen Sara's salty expression before. Sara turned to the two teenagers and asked, "Shouldn't you be rehearsing?"

Mike sucked in air and said, "That's theater talk for beat it."

"Wait a second, I wasn't done talking to them," the colonel demanded. He kept his eyes on the teens that were inching towards the door.

Sara grabbed his attention again. She pointed her thumb to herself, "Well, I call the shots around here, Colonel."

"She got you there," Mike cheerfully pointed out. He was happy to get out of there, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Flame."

"It's Mustang," Mustang muttered to himself. There was no way that Mike could have heard him. They already darted out of the room, now he is stuck with her.

"This is completely unconventional, you didn't have to sneak around and cause a scene, Colonel." The three soldiers was watched Sara renew the melted vent with alchemy.

It looked like she just touched it for ten seconds and swiftly regenerated it. If he wasn't here for someone else, he would have asked her about her impressive alchemy skills. "Get back."

They watched her climb through the rectangular hole and attached the vent back on. Mustang noted how silent his subordinates were; if only they knew the half of it. "There, good as new. "

"Very impressive," the colonel complimented her. He offered a hand to help her own her feet.

Sara only glared at him as she rose to her by herself, "What are you doing her, Colonel?"

"I came to see the show," Havoc and Hawkeye shared a look, because that was a huge lie.

"I have a question," Havoc finally shook up, "When was the last time you seen the chief?"

"You mean Fullmetal," Sara corrected him immediately.

Hawkeye wanted in on this conversation, "You're Edward's Sara?"

Sara twitched in anger. She knew what she meant, "We're good friends. Please don't tell me you tracked me down to interrogate me about my friendship with Fullmetal."

"No, I came to volunteer for security. I heard that this theater is becoming very popular. You'll need a few military personnel to maintain the growing crowds." Colonel had that pitch perfected.

When did he research the theater? Something about this place is grabbing Colonel's attention. Could it be Sara or those kids? What the hell is going on?

"That's very considerate of you, but I assure that we have enough security already."

"Colonel?" and now, Fullmetal's here.

"Is he your security?" Havoc didn't mean to be funny, but it didn't stop Mustang from snickering.

Chief's head poked out from behind the bright red curtain. He made a face at the crowd. It's just like Chief. Then he marched through the curtains and…

Wait, Havoc had to focus a little harder. Two figures peered from the behind the curtains and he thought he was seeing double, but it was Chief and a guy who looked exactly like Chief. Havoc looked at Hawkeye for a reaction. She kept her eyes locked on the unknown guy.

"Fullmetal, Richard" the Colonel didn't seem shaken up.

"Colonel," he even sounds like Chief!

"Bastard," Fullmetal approached them a lot faster than the unknown guy.

Sara looked in their direction and said, "Brother,"

"Brother?!" Havoc's outburst caught everyone's attention. "Hold on, which one is your brother?"

Sara pointed to the older blonde and answered, "That one."

Havoc glanced at the two blondes in front, "Are you sure you're pointing to the right one?"

"Havoc," Fullmetal warned him.

Havoc gestured towards the Richards and Fullmetal and asked, "Tell me I am not the only one who sees this."

No, he may have been the last one to see the big picture. Hawkeye finally realizes why Mustang has been acting so strange lately. However, seeing the whole picture didn't solve anything only made things more complicated. "Who are you two?" Havoc was still shocked.

Fullmetal blocked Sara by standing in front of her. He also answered for her, "This is Sara and Eric Richard and they're siblings. They're currently working here in management of Tempus Theater."

That wasn't helpful, "Chief, I think that they can speak for themselves."

"Actually, he summed up everything." Eric noticed their expressions every time he said something, "I only came out here to tell Sara that the stage is ready and the actors are starting to arrive."

 _That's right, I'm a theater manager_ , Sara thought to herself. Seeing three people in military uniform confused her.

"I'll get on that and I'm sorry, Mustang, I'm going to have to decline your offer," Sara replied to her brother.

"What offer?" Edward retorted glaring at Mustang.

"He wanted to pitch in for security, but everything's covered, so there's no need. Also, my brother and I are very busy, so I'm going to have to leave the three of you with Edward" Sara explained very innocently.

"It was nice to meet all of you," Eric barely spoke.

The two Richards ignored the demands to stay as they disappeared behind the red curtain. They really didn't have time for this, because it was time for roll-call and dress rehearsals. One comment that Mustang made did stuck out to Eric. He complimented the dynamic of Edward's friendship with them. Then, it hit him.

"He wants to talk to Raymond," Eric uttered in the dark stage.

It was a good thing that he didn't mutter the name within earshot of the soldiers or Edward. Sara glanced at her older brother. The theory makes sense, but how does Mustang know about Raymond? That question should be saved for him.

"I'll go get him," Sara responded like the manager that she was pretending to be.

* * *

The moment Mike and Ava left the basement; they had to pause to start breathing again. Mike pointed a shaky finger to door behind him, " _Th-those were…_ "

" _I know,_ " Ava cut him off.

Mike shook his head, " _No, no you don't understand. Did you see his female subordinate?"_

" _You mean the woman with Raymond's eyes?_ " Mike realized that she was trembling with excitement, too.

" _I guess I don't have to explain that,_ " that was one awkward conversation avoided.

" _Nope,_ " Ava stared at him with wide eyes.

"I wanna tell him!" Mike perked up at the thought.

Before Ava could protest, Mike bee lined for Raymond. She had to run just to keep up with him. It wasn't hard to find him; all they had to do was find the source of the music where he would be practicing his violin. It was traced back to Raymond's dressing room which was on the second floor.

The Ishvalan teen made it to the closed off room and banged on the door loud to cut through the sound of the violin. He yelled through the door, "Raymond, your daddy's here!"

The pleasant music was disrupted with a harsh note. Mike waited patiently for his friend to open the door. An ivory skinned teenaged boy opened the door. His hair was jet black and his eyes were bronze, just like the female soldier he saw earlier. Mike grinned at his skinny friend as he watched him go through a range of emotions.

"Whose daddy?" that was all he managed to say. It's weird how similar their voices are.

"Your daddy; he's in the theater."

"No, he's not."

"Yeah, he is. I saw him and so did Ava." Mike turned to the short Xingese girl. "Tell him that the guy looks just like him."

Ava only shrugged. It was so typical of her.

"You think every Xingese guy in town is my dad," Raymond pointed out.

That only happened three times. Mike continued on, "He sounds just like you, too."

"So," he wasn't convinced. What was his name again?

"His name was Mustang,"

Mike watch Raymond's widened at that name. "Shit," Raymond muttered to himself.

This was the first time that either of them heard him curse. Raymond continued on, "What is he doing here? He hates the show."

"We think he wants to see you," Ava finally said something. Her voice did calm him down a little.

"I don't want to see him,"

Raymond returned to his dressing room, he's always been a difficult kid. Mike and Ava know that firsthand. It took nearly two weeks to get him to talk to someone other than his older sister, Lys. Mike followed him into the room to try to reason with him. Ava would have followed behind him if she didn't hear Maya calling her.

"Ava, _someone's here to meet you_ ," she heard her older sister's soft voice.

Ava didn't want to leave Raymond behind. She usually didn't go against her big sister, but she was seriously considering it at that point until she heard another familiar voice. It sounded like the voice was inside a metal container. It had to be him. Ava turned and darted to a silver railing. Straight down, she saw Amaya talking to a huge suit of armor.

* * *

"Who are you talking to, Maya?" Alphonse found her talking to herself on the stage.

She faced him and smiled at the armor, "I'm calling my sister."

"Your sister," Al scanned the vacant stage, "Where is she?"

" _Come down now,_ "

Alphonse had no idea what she was saying in Xingese; before he could ask, he saw someone drop from nowhere and land right next to Maya. The person stood up, the girl was a half foot shorter than Maya. Aw, she's so cute.

Al hesitated for a second and kneeled on one knee to try to get to her eye level, "Hi, Ava. You may not recognize me, but I'm Alphonse Elric."

Ava didn't respond right away. She stared at the armor bewildered for what seemed like forever. Suddenly and unexpectedly, she lunged at Al, jumped up, and caught him in a hug. She was so quick, Al nearly had time react. In response, he gently patted her back.

Al heard her mumble a Xingese word, " _Daddy._ "

Al wished he could speak Xingese.

* * *

Raymond and Mike saw the whole display from the top balcony. Mike gestured a hand towards them and whispered, "Come on, tell me that wasn't touching. You should at least see your dad."

Raymond rolled his eyes and whispered back, "I'm not going to hug Mustang and call him, daddy."

Mike kept his voice as low as he could, "No one said that. You're going to make things a lot worse if you ignore him."

"I doubt that. He should get use to me avoiding him now."

* * *

 **A/N: Hope you like the new characters; I'm going to mention them a lot.**

 **A little foreshadowing was sprinkled in this chapter. Raymond is playing with fire. (No pun attended) He doesn't want to talk to Mustang for a good reason. I don't have enough time to do flashbacks, so I can't reveal anything that way.**

 **I hope that you can see the amount of respect the Richards have for the Elric Brothers and literally no one else.**

 **Maybe I should make these chapters longer. I have no idea. I wanted to get to the actual show, but too many things happened. Of course, everyone is going to be there.**

 _ **A.** **Leaf**_


	8. Little Flame

**The Richards Ch. 8**

Little Flame

* * *

"What does that supposed to mean?" Edward Elric stared down his commanding officer.

Mustang must know about the Richards, it is the only reason why he is here snooping around, just like he is. Mustang is surprisingly taking it very well, unlike Havoc who is still staring at the untouched red velvet curtain as if he's waiting for them to come back out. Hawkeye was still strangely quiet and serene about the whole ordeal.

Mustang thought over his answer very carefully because there's a chance that Fullmetal can help him after all. The Flame Alchemist explained to the young alchemist, "When I said that I meant how the Richards respect you. I have a feeling that if you told them to stay, they would have."

Fullmetal looked disoriented for a few seconds. There is no telling what he could be thinking about at that moment. Havoc slowly turned his head from the stage and said, "And what does THAT supposed to mean? Are you saying that the Richards treat Fullmetal like an authority figure better than you?"

Mustang shrugged off the comment. The look on his face suggested that Havoc was on to something. Mustang wanted to tell Fullmetal exactly what he was thinking, but for the sake of being committed by his own subordinates, he had to improvise, "It's just that I admire the friendship Fullmetal have with the Richards. I think that I could have the same kind of friendship with someone here."

Flame could feel three different pair of eyes being drilled into him. It didn't matter what Hawkeye and Havoc was thinking right now, because they're not grasping the situation. Fullmetal looked like he realized what Mustang was trying to say. His expression was a combination of shock and excitement.

He cocked one eyebrow and asked very carefully, "You think that someone here is like the Richards? Have you seen this person?"

Mustang smirked at the young alchemist. He is very quick for his age, "Yes and I have not seen him yet."

"Him?" Fullmetal repeated that word like he already knew something. "Are you sure that you're looking for a guy?"

Mustang wondered about the person Fullmetal was already suspicious of. This is the first time that Fullmetal is giving him entail about the Richards or anyone close to them. He needed to take the little info he receives, "I wasn't looking for a female, but I will keep an eye for anyone who is suspiciously familiar."

"Alright," Havoc stepped in, "What's this inside joke, because I'm still lost over here."

"It would be nice to know what is going on," Hawkeye was lying. All she wanted to do was to do was ransack this whole theater. She has a feeling that she's not the only one.

"I don't know what you're going on about, Havoc. Is this going to happen every time I make new friends?" Edward was being sarcastic again and that means that this conversation was over. All because his subordinates were impatient; maybe he shouldn't bring them next time.

Havoc looked at the two state alchemists. They're scientists. Their scientific curiosity should be ripping them apart right now. How are they so relaxed about this? Why won't Mustang order Fullmetal to call the Richards back into the arena? Doesn't Mustang want to interrogate that Eric guy? Because Havoc wants to talk to him again.

The solider sighed. There was not much he could do at the point and he has to trust that his superior is on to something. Havoc looked over at Hawkeye to see her still strangely calm about this everything. It's possible that the Richards are not their target.

"Is there anything or anybody else that we should be looking out for? You know, except for the three teenagers." Havoc wanted Fullmetal to hear about what Mustang was obsessing over.

"Three teenagers?" He took the bait.

Havoc continued on, "Yup and we've seen two of them already; an Ishvalan teenager with blue eyes and a Xingese girl with gold eyes."

"Ava," Fullmetal knew one of them. That's a good sign.

"But the last one keeps hiding from us. Someone described him as a pale boy with dark hair." He noted Chief's reaction; his eyes widened as he darted to Mustang. Havoc went on anyway, "I honestly have no idea why, but I think Mustang knows why and I bet you know why too, Chief."

The way Chief looked at him suggested it; Havoc had no idea what to think about it. Fullmetal looked like he was given the best news ever. He was doing everything to contain his excitement and he wasn't doing a good job with it. Chief finally replied to him, "Fine, I will keep an eye for those teens."

"Thanks," Mustang didn't really have a choice in the matter. The Richards will not let him backstage, but will allow the Elric Brothers to do whatever they want.

"Don't mention it," Fullmetal doesn't give favors for Mustang, unless he'll get something out of it.

* * *

Sara Richard wondered around stage aimlessly for a few minutes now. It's crazy how big and endless the stage can be when you need to find something. Sara finally got a hint that someone was there when she heard a soft chattering from a far corner.

The blonde alchemist wondered towards the noise and found a suit of armor talking to two girls. They were not who she was looking for, but it will have to do. Sara carefully approached them and she didn't want to disturb Alphonse. Sara whispered to only alert one person, "Hey Maya."

Maya turned her attention away from the armor and her sister. Somehow, she made looking over her shoulder look very graceful. Sara whispered to her, "How are they getting along?"

Maya grinned at her and answered, "He hasn't put her down yet."

Sara looked past her younger cousin to realize to see what Princess was talking about. She saw that Ava perched comfortably on Al's shoulder. They were yammering on about completely random topics. It was sort of cute. Regrettably, she had other matters to address. She'll just make Lys take a picture of them.

Sara had to concentrate on her energy on informing Raymond that Mustang and his crew is snooping around. There is a strong chance that he already knows, but she needed to make sure for herself. With that thought trailing in her mind, she was able to distract herself and ask Maya, "Can you use your Dragon Sense to find Raymond for me?"

"Dragon's Pulse," Princess had to correct her first, "and Raymond's in his room."

No shit, she assumed that he wasn't there, because the music stopped. Sara deeply inhaled, because she realized that she just wasted her time. She did wave to Al and Ava, before walking away from there. Good side to this is seeing Ava sitting on the armor that was something to see.

The bad side was she had to dart to the other side of the stage to get to the stairs that will go to the upper floor where Raymond is. She was only a few feet from the stairs when she heard Fullmetal say her name. She turned around ready to excuse herself from a confrontation until she saw the look on his face. Sara decided to put Raymond on hold.

In her most innocent voice, "What is it, Edward?"

The young state alchemist approached her with the craziest grin, "Sara, I want to know if there is anyone here that I should talk to; maybe, someone that I would recognize or will recognize me."

Mustang must have told Edward about Raymond. This is not good, not good at all. Sara did her best to keep her composure and tone straight. She didn't know if Ed was bluffing when he told them that he can tell if when they're lying, but definitely did not want to take any chances. "You met and influenced a lot of people, Edward."

"That's not what I meant," Ed retorted back.

"Then what do you mean?" She wanted to hear him it aloud.

Sara and her brothers noticed how Ed would carefully choose his words and carefully phrased his questions. After a week, he never directly said or suggested that he thinks they're from the future. She wanted to hear him say it. The teenage major wouldn't admit to that even with the proof staring at him in the face.

"I mean…" Edward was tripping over his own words. There was no way to rephrase the question that he really wanted to ask. He'd bet Mustang had to go through this too. "Where's Lys?"

"In the kitchen; is there anything else, Edward?" Sara did her innocent voice up. It only made Edward more aware.

He huffed and declared before he walked off, "Whatever you're up to; I will figure it out."

"Okay, Edward," This is not the first or last time he'd said that. She gotten used to it. She waited until Edward strolled off the stage and out of sight before heading up the stairs to the dressing rooms. He doesn't need to know where that is.

Sara zoomed up the dark and partly hidden stairway to a poorly lit hallway where she banged on the first door to the left which was Raymond's and Mike's room. She could hear through the wooden door that they were having a heated debate about something. It didn't matter.

Sara banged on the door again to alert them that she was there. Without a second thought or a permission to enter, she opened the door and stepped though. She grew up with two brothers; there is nothing that could surprise her at that moment. Thankfully, she found Raymond and his roommate talking heavily on the same subject she barged into the room to discuss.

"Raymond, there's a Colonel Mustang here to see you," She stated very politely. She just wanted to see his reaction.

Raymond barely reacted. He must have known that Mustang was here. The teen looked at her expressionless and replied, "You must be mistaken because I don't know a Colonel Mustang."

Not what she expected at all. He was technically right, but there is a lot more going on at that point, "Look, you could avoid him all you want, but you can't ignore all of the effort he put in to find you. You're only going to make this worse for yourself."

"That's exactly what I said; he won't listen to me." Michael was shaking his head. He's not helping at all.

Raymond pouted and drooped into his seat. He knew that things will get complicated the moment the Richards announced that they moving out of Main House to keep a better eye on Fullmetal. Now, he has the Flame Alchemist stalking him for whatever reason. There's always a reason with him.

"Why me? Why does Colonel Mustang want to talk to me so badly?"

He saw the reaction of his manager. The answer was so simple in her world and that was a dumb question to her. She quickly answered back, "Because, he knows who you are and he wants to know you."

No; that's not it. Mustang is not that simple minded. He already had a ready backfire, "That may be true for the Elric Brothers, but Mustang has another reason than that. Tell me what he wants from me!"

Sara never saw this side of Raymond before. He was talking back, refusing an authority figure, and raising his voice. When she first met him a few months ago, she thought that he was a timid, well-tempered kid. Mentioning Mustang must have triggered something. She sighed; there are more important things to do then trying to keep the peace again between Roy and Raymond.

"Fine Raymond, do what you want. I really don't care. But remember that this is a public place and I can't restrain Mustang or his crew from being part of the audience and you still have to perform like normal." Sara could think of all the crazy things that could happen; all because a teenager doesn't want to talk his father.

"Don't let them near me."

"Deal," The blonde alchemist rolled her eyes at the stubborn teen. There was one thing that they need to make clear, "This arrangement doesn't include the Elric Brothers."

"O yeah, they can stay." Mike stepped into both of their view, "We actually prefer the Elric Brothers to be here."

"Who is 'we'?" The manager couldn't help asking.

"The actors, writers, extras; you know all of the people who are backstage. We had a chat about it and decided that it's better when they're around" Mike said that very casually.

When did all of this happen? "The Elrics only was here for half an hour."

"And it's been so quiet," Mike retorted back.

Raymond ducked his head into his head. Why did Mike say that? He's such an idiot.

* * *

A high pitched sound muffled in the background was seeping through the air vents in the kitchen. Someone must have ticked off Sara again. Lys grinned to herself trying to figure out what she could be yelling about this time. It was a nice distraction to think about as she waited on Eddie to fix the stove, again.

"How do you keep breaking this thing?" Eddie usually complains when he has to do this.

"I slave on that thing every day and it wasn't new to begin with. I'm surprised that it can be fixed." Lys had her own set of complaints.

"You volunteered to cook," Eddie retorted back. His head and his upper body were inside of the old run down stove. It breaks once a week; why can't we replace it?

"There; the gas valve was dislodged again," Eddie carefully climbed out of the stove and sat down on the floor.

Eddie sat up on the floor and tried to explain why the stove could still be useful to the theater. Just because he is an engineer doesn't mean that he could fix all the appliances in the theater. There are some things that needs to be replaced. She was ready to start another epic Elric showdown when a glimmer color red caught her eye.

A teenaged Edward Elric strolled into the kitchen and locked eyes with her. He looked so young; it's hard to believe that he is a state alchemist and a major. Somehow, reality crashed down on her again. The Elric kids or Raymond don't exist yet. Almost everyone she knows has the fake names. And Fullmetal is just the cutest thing ever.

"What is it, Edward?" Eddie, no Eric, didn't have to turn around to know Fullmetal was behind him.

"How did you know that I was behind you?" Edward looked at the back of the Eric's head.

Sara told them that Eric was the first Richard that Fullmetal saw and the reason why he tracked them down. That's completely understandable. They look and sound so much alike; it's like seeing double whenever they're close to each other.

"I heard your automail." Eric answered his question.

"You heard my automail?" Ed repeated his words.

"You need to oil it," Eric answered back. He's breaking his own rules at this point. Hinting that he is a proficient automail engineer could be traced back to his family.

"I'll do it later," Ed grudged off the subject. It may not have been the first time they had that conversation. Watching those two chat is the strangest thing. It's like one of them is talking to a mirror.

Lys froze when Fullmetal turned at her again. He was thinking hard about something. Edward finally asked her, "What's your real name?"

Lys couldn't think of response quick enough. The Richards forgot to mention that Ed would be so direct with his questions. Nevertheless, it did comfort her that he still has no idea who she is yet. "Lys is my real name," that was technically true.

"Hmm," Edward made a face at her. She wondered how that could have been the wrong answer. "It's funny that you didn't say that Lysa was your real name."

Lys's stomach dropped. Fullmetal's interrogation method is very thorough. It's astonishing that the Richards didn't crack and tell him everything by now. The fabricated Lysa had to find her voice again. "That's what I meant, Edward."

"Sure you did," Edaward already knew she was lying. What could he possibly want with her right now?

"Edward, there's no need to interrogate her. It's just Lys." Eric's casual tone insulted her.

Honestly, there is a mountain of information that she could tell Fullmetal about the Richards' childhood, Raymond's childhood, Roy, and hell, even Fullmetal himself. She is the one of the oldest friendships that the Richards and Raymond has. Edward knew her since she was a little girl, but Edward can't know that now.

Still she wanted to tease Eric. That's her one of her guilty pleasures, "I've known you for a very long time, Eric, and I'm just Lys?"

"Really?" She nearly forgot that Fullmetal was in the room. "Tell me, how long have you known Eric Richard?"

That is a good question. She would guess by taking his exact age and adding nine months to that. That math was too complicated to do at that very moment with the iconic state alchemist and Eric staring her down. One desperately wants the answer and the other desperately wants her to lie.

But she is mad at one of them, "Well, since you really want to know."

Eric's signals became more direct. He wasn't mouthing the word, don't, and shaking his head at the same time. It was because he know what she was about to say next. Fullmetal was waiting very patiently for her to finish her statement. Lys continued on anyway, "I've changed Eric's diapers."

"What?" Fullmetal was obviously shocked.

She instantly became a person of interest and just as important as the Richards now. He already recognized her. It was only a matter of time until he figured out her real name. She's a little surprised that he hasn't yet.

"I'm pretty sure that I should know you," Fullmetal took a few steps towards her. He looked even cuter up close. "I'm willing to make a little wager with you Lysa Huller."

"What kind of wager?" Lys had to ask. What could he offer her?

The Fullmetal Alchemist kept a straight face when he said, "If you tell me your real name, I'll give you a hug."

Lys stopped again. Her eyes narrowed and her mouth pressed into a straight line. He's good; he's really good. The two Edwards grow impatient waiting for her answer. The big one said, "Really, Lys?"

"I'm thinking," she answered back as she looked away from the tempting golden eyes. It was a hard one. What's the worst that could happen?

The little one know that she was trying to weigh her options at that moment. He is a little more patient then the other one, "We can talk about it later. There is one more thing that I have to ask both of you."

Edward glanced at the two people in the kitchen. They had no idea what was on his mind, but there is a strong chance that they know the person that Mustang is trying to track down. "Mustang has shown a lot of interest in one of the teenaged actors who work in this theater. Do you have any idea who he is trying to find?"

"Nope," Lysa quickly responded. Raymond is someone Edward doesn't need to know about. Not now, not ever.

"No idea, Edward." Eric responded.

Edward didn't look convinced. He looked back and forth at the two. He knows what's going on, but has no proof or refuse to ask directly. Wonder how long it would take him to break? She couldn't let that happened to her big brother, "Edward, think about it this way, why would someone actively avoid someone else?"

Edward raised an eyebrow at the caterer. He knew that she was giving him a hint and he took it. Ed glanced at Eric who was still sitting on the floor beside him. It didn't take that long for Ed to find the Richards and befriend them. They didn't try to hide from him. Mustang, on the other hand, had to ask for help to find his person of interest.

Edward silently exhaled and finally answered after a long minute, "Maybe I'm a better friend than Mustang."

Lys shook his head at him. Another thing that Edward can't know is that he is right about that, too.

* * *

"Thirty minutes 'til curtain! Is everyone ready?!" Sara had a group of people surrounding her.

Apparently all of them work in the theater and all of them adore her. Edward spent a good hour asking individual people here when they meet the Richards. Almost all of them said the same thing, when they were hired into the theater. The employees here assume that the Richards own and run the theater themselves and are running it very well.

Within the past six months, the Richards were able to launch this theater from nothing and make it one of the most successful theaters in the city. There were even at least twenty guests who come here an hour early just to sit down and talk directly to the Richards, listen to music in the background and grab a plate from the catering table. It's funny; one of the reasons why the theater is so famous was for the amazing special effects. Turns out, the Richards' secret is a whole lot of alchemy.

Edward wondered aimlessly trying to figure out who he is going to question next. The actors were a dead end and there is still no sign of the teenager that Mustang wants. It seemed like a ceaseless search; this place is not that big.

"Brother!" he heard Al call him. He also heard his footsteps closing in on him.

Edward keeps forgetting that Alphonse knows about the Richards, too. He turned around to notice a small girl was sitting on the armor. The Xingese girl smiled brightly and waved at him. She looked like an exact replica of Amaya. It had to be Ava.

" _Good evening, Tiny Uncle!_ " Ava happily shrieked. She did look excited to see him.

Her high pitched voice alerted people on the other side of the stage. She's very loud. Alphonse didn't seem to mind. He continued to talk like normal, "This is Ava, Amaya's little sister. Isn't she adorable?"

 _As a bug,_ Edward thought to himself. He had to say something to the two, "Hi there, Ava. You know I don't speak Xingese, right?"

"I know," she retorted back with a huge smile on her face. Ed doesn't trust that smile.

Edward was about to ask her to translate what she just said, then he remembered that there were bigger things to fish for. Ed stared right at her and asked, "Ava, do have any friends that you spend time with constantly?"

He watched Ava's eyes drift away aimlessly and then focused on him again. She nodded and said, "Yes, Raymond and Mike."

Finally, he has a name, but which one is the target. Ed tried to look as innocent as possible when he asked his follow-up question, "Can you tell me about them?"

"What are you doing, Brother?" Al defended her. It was a normal response.

"Mike's an idiot and Raymond's very quiet," Ava answered the state alchemist.

That wouldn't be enough information to tell them apart. Edward gestured her to continue. He did receive a dirty look from Al, but she did go on, "Mike looks Ishvalan, but he's only half Ishvalan and Raymond wears a lot of black. _Sister_ says he thinks more than he talks."

"That's Xingese for sister," Al explained without hesitation.

So Raymond is the one Mustang is looking for. It's great that Ed finally know his name. Ed had one more question for now, "How can I find him?"

"Just follow the music," Ava explained very fast.

"What does that mean?" That didn't make any sense.

"No more questions, Brother." Alphonse stepped in. He cut off the interrogation.

"But," This is a first.

"She did answer your question. Now can you answer mine? Why are you so interested in those two?" Alphonse wanted some answers too.

"Because Al, I think that her friends came from the same place the Richards did and Colonel is very interested in one of them." Ed hoped Al got the hint, but it seemed like Ava grasped what he said first.

Her demeanor changed slightly and her tone softened as she said, "The Flame Alchemist does want to see Raymond, but Raymond doesn't want to see him."

Edward flinched. That was not what he expected to hear. Ed asked, "But why?"

She shrugged and said, "I don't know, he wouldn't tell me."

Interesting, that is the second time someone said that Raymond is purposely avoiding Mustang. Fullmetal wondered if his hypothesis of Mustang was true. There is only one way to find out. He needs to talk to Raymond directly. Ed looked up and thanked Ava for the new information. He tried to search for Raymond in the lively stage chaos. Finding Raymond will be more challenging than he thought.

* * *

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Ms. Huller," a pair of sly dark eyes examining here.

This guy was wasn't here to see the show. He didn't care about the success of Tempus. He's a voucher who goes around different venues and recruits the people with the most talent and potential. Naturally, Lys wouldn't have to interact with a guy like this, until he targeted Raymond.

"There's nothing pleasurable about this, Mr. Lyles" She retorted back.

It was the third night in a row that he came to this theater and tried to sneak around to the back. Of course the snake will try to find the door that leads directly to the balcony where the teenagers and VIPs would be. Sara made it blend into the wall so it will be nearly impossible to find it. Raymond has a separate unit to play his violin away from the audience.

"Can I see him this time or are you going to send me away again?" Lyles's patience was running thin and so was Lys's.

"We've already discussed this. He doesn't need a new agent." Her tone was becoming harsher the longer she spoke to him. He didn't seem to mind.

"You're only the cook. I don't know why you think you could keep him in this tiny theater, but his musical talents could make him famous in this nation and that's only the beginning." Lyles's speech changed a little each time, but it stayed same.

The insult to her intellect was new. Lyles is very two-faced. When he realized that she a threat the verbal lashing started. He has no idea what she is capable of and it took everything she had not to physically hurt him. Instead, she snarled at him, "Look, there is no way you are taking Raymond away! He belongs here!"

"He could be the next big sensation! But, I'm not going to let some nobody...!"

"What's going on back here?" A male's deep voice cut through the conversation.

Lys flinched and looked down, because she recognized that voice. There's no mistaking that distinct voice. The Flame Alchemist must have overheard them yelling at each other and came to check it out. It is his duty as an officer. He approached the two without fear or hesitation.

He scolded at the agent, "That's no way to talk to a lady. Apologize, now."

"Sorry," Lyles grudged out and swiftly left the scene. He may be a voucher, but he knows better to go against the Flame Alchemist.

As soon as the guy was out of sight, he try to help the clearly distraught woman, "Are you okay, Miss? What was that about?"

Lys didn't want to look up at him. She didn't want Uncle Roy to be drilling her for information too. She shook her head and answered him, "Thanks, that guy was an agent. He want to recruit my little brother and work him half to death doing concerts all around Amestris. He's only a kid, I couldn't let that happen."

That a little more information than she meant to confess. Lys was venting all of the frustration that Lyles put on her. Roy sighed and said, "I understand. It's noble to protect the ones who are close to you."

Lys finally looked up at him. He looked so much like Raymond; it was hard for her not to let her guard down. But, she needs to remember right now that he has no idea who she is. However, it was nice to finally find someone who realizes her strain. "I have to look out for him. This is a cutthroat industry and he could be chewed up and spat right back out."

Mustang chuckled at that statement. He smiled at her and said, "Believe me; I completely understand what that is like."

Mustang paused for a second. Something about her demeanor, hair, eyes, and the fact that she was wearing a big unsoiled apron, seemed awfully familiar. At this rate, he shouldn't take any chances. "Do I know you?" he suddenly blurted out.

He noted how she quickly sucked in a breath and her eyes widened, "No silly, we just met."

She extended a hand out towards him, "Lysa Huller, but everyone calls me Lys."

Even that name sounds awfully familiar. He took her hand anyway and introduced himself. He had no idea if she should be a person of interest; there is one simple question that could clarify that. Flame asked her, "Do you know the Richards?"

Lys stopped again. She obviously knew what he was really asking. Her reaction was enough proof. "I only work with them," that was only half true and both of them knew it.

"Well, I should be getting back," Lys started backing away from the alchemist who knew too much. She bowed at him and said, "Thanks again for your help, Mr. Mustang."

"No problem," he watched her disappear into the backstage.

It was good that he is finding more people who are close to the Richards. He needs to get allies on the other side in order to figure out what's really going on. Maybe this Lys character could be a huge help to him. He wondered away from the back corner and towards the arena. His mind was going a million thoughts a minute.

"Roy!" A loud voice broke his thoughts.

It was no one other than Hughes. He was rushing towards him and he was visibly shaking. What could be on his mind right now? They've been to war together and Roy never saw that face before. It's like he saw a ghost. Mustang approached his friend with every intention to try to calm him down. "What is it, Hughes?"

Hughes was still gasping for air and trembling, but he formed words anyways, "Is there any chance that you saw a smaller version of you running around here? I just lost him."

* * *

"Any idea what's going on here, Hawkeye?" Hughes asked the Lieutenant.

Hughes noticed Mustang's change in behavior. As soon as they got inside the theater, Mustang took off without a single word. Hughes wondered if he is still thinking about the conversation they had last night after they met the Richards. Well, they're all here at their theater. Hey, he was a little curious himself. Tonight's play is less than two hours, what the hell?

Hawkeye blankly ignored his question and did her own scoping around the theater. Man, they are completely checked out. When he looked around, he realized that he was completely by himself. He went to the arena to try to find them. Thankfully, he saw Riza's hair down the stairs.

"Hey…" He tried to get her to turn around.

In response, Riza swiftly raised her index finger as she stared head. She was moving incredibly slow as if she was creeping on someone. Hughes looked ahead to see who she could creeping on. Down several feet ahead of her was Roy. It looked like he was eating something, oh, a cookie. It looks delicious.

Without thinking, Hughes casually walked passed Hawkeye and called out to him, "Hey, Roy. Where did you find that cookie?"

Roy twitched, but he didn't turn around or addressed Hughes. He picked up his pace and started to move down the steps to the front stage. That's weird of him. He heard Hawkeye groan behind him. What did he do?

"Go after him," Riza started to chase after Roy.

Riza was already hot on his trail. Hughes moved sluggishly behind. This doesn't make any sense at all. Why is Hawkeye chasing Mustang?

Roy stopped to pull open the door and swivel inside it. Before he disappeared into the room, he looked up at the two soliders. At that moment when he saw his face, he realized that that couldn't have been Roy; that was just a kid. A kid who looked just like Roy. A kid who could pass as Roy's younger brother.

O, great. He saw Hawkeye trying to open the door behind him. He locked it. Of course, he did. Hughes walked up to Hawkeye and had to confess something. He was starting to shake, because he couldn't believe it himself, "Hawkeye, I have to something to tell you."

She turned to him stressed. She was in the middle of doing something else. Hughes pointed a shaky finger towards the door and unloaded, "The-the Elrics thinks that the Richards are from the future. It-it's crazy I know, but that's only the half of it. They also think that they're their kids, but they'll deny it, but the proof is clearly obvious."

Hawkeye was still strangely quiet. It wasn't the times for questions, he continued on, "Mustang had some strange events happen to him and it was completely parallel to the way Ed met the Richards. His only conclusion was that he has a kid from the future here, too. And that must have been him, because he looked like a Little Roy."

Hawkeye jolted and stared at him like he was crazy. That was completely understandable. He thinks that he is crazy, too. Strange enough, Hawkeye never removed her hand from the doorknob. Hawkeye looked at him and asked, "Are you sure about this?"

Hughes shook his head, "There's no actual proof to confirm this. You don't have to be a part of this crazy goose chase and I am not asking you to believe me. Cause, honestly, I don't believe it myself. What do you think about all of this?"

"You want to know I think?" Hawkeye asked almost sarcastically.

"Yeah," Hughes was ready for the worst; statements that their insane, that's impossible, we should be in a padded room with a stray jacket, anything she could think of.

To his surprise, she pulled a gun from her pants and stated, "We're wasting too much time."

The sniper aimed the gun at the door lock. She was going to blow tp open. Hughes had to do something, "Wait that would make too much noise."

He rushed to her, pulled his knife, and said, "Allow me."

He jammed the knife into the door and bolted it open. The next surprise was that the room was the restroom. It had to be the men's restroom, because it had urinals perfectly aligned on the wall. That didn't stop Riza from charging into the restroom and searching all of the stalls.

"He's not here," She stated utterly disappointed.

The restroom had a window and a vent. There is no way of knowing exactly how he got out of the locked room. Hawkeye was right; they did waste too much time. Little Roy is a quick thinker. There is one good thing about this.

"At least we know that he's here," he wanted to point out; before Hawkeye realizes that it is his fault that he got away. "I hope Little Roy is in the play tonight."

* * *

 **A/N: Raymond was serious when he said that he doesn't want to see Mustang. But, it will be crazy to try to hide from everyone at once, especially when he is a huge part of the show.** **Riza always was suspicious very since she first heard Raymond's voice. She was trying to stay vigilant and that's why she was so quiet through most of this.**

 **It's crazy trying to juggle all of these characters, but it has to be done. There are so many perspectives that need to be mentioned. The thing is, there are even more characters that could be thrown into this chaos. What am I gonna do?**

 **The Elrics already have a strong bond with the Richards. There only two things that could disturb their friendship at this point. I shouldn't get into that...yet. Ed just wants to know why they time-traveled in the first place. Al may start asking about the Princesses' mother soon.**

 **Before I forget, I always imagined Maya having a younger brother who was the exact opposite of Alphonse. That would be awesome. The only reason why I haven't mentioned him yet was because he wouldn't work in Tempus. But, that would be a cool dynamic to introduce into the story.**

 **Also, anybody here a fan of the Nickelodeon show, Danny Phantom. Wouldn't be great if one of the popular plays was modeled off that show? Where Raymond was Danny, Ava was Sam, and Michael was Tucker. I have to admit that they do fit the image. Imagine Mustang's crew have to sit through a play where "Little Roy" gets beaten up as much as Danny did.**

 **Oh, oh, and two people who will immediately recognize their kid from the future if they ever run into them by accident, Mei Chang and Maes Hughes.**

 **That's just some of my thoughts on the direction of the story. If you have any suggestions let me know. Don't forget to review.**

 _ **A. Leaf**_


	9. Awkward

**A/N: It's been awhile. A lot of crazy things happened in my life. I'm extremely sorry for the wait and it was killing me that this story was incomplete.**

 **Before I continue, I want you to know that I do like Mustang and Hawkeye. I completely support Royai and I am not going to assassinate their characters. Raymond's issues with his parents are forgivable. But, he doesn't have a strong connection with them and he'll do his everything he can to avoid them. I can't tell you why or what happened between them right now (No Spoilers). I am dropping hints in the chapters, look for them.**

* * *

 **The Richards Ch. 9**

Awkward

* * *

"I think the lieutenant finally lost it," Havoc was trying not to make a joke out of Hughes's extreme behavior, but it was too amusing.

Hughes's been extremely jittery and was stuttering in every sentence he said. He was also pacing back and forth from the arena to the front lobby and scanning it. This place is not that big. Whoever he is searching for is clearly avoiding him. Havoc doesn't blame the guy. Hughes is nuts.

Strangely enough, Mustang hasn't done anything to calm him down. He's keeps asking about some kid, "Are you sure about this, Maes?"

"I swear Roy, I thought. he. was. you." Maes couldn't stress that point enough.

"What was he wearing?" Who the hell are they talking about?

Judging by the conversation, neither of them know the mysterious kid's name. That means that they can't go around, asking random people about him, and make locating him a lot easier. Havoc came to the theater again, because he was curious about the situation. Something is going on here, something that drove three of his superior officers crazier than usual. He just wants clarification and to win a bet with the gang.

Since those two are distracted, Havoc turned to Hawkeye who was also staring into the space. He came here as a group, but have no one to talk to. If they went to the bar, all of them would have been drunk by now. Everyone started strange the moment Chief mentioned the Richards.

From the distance, Havoc spotted a random man who was studying Mustang. As a solider, who had nothing better to do, Havoc investigated the suspicious man. He was wearing a beige trench coat and staring hard at Mustang. Now, the guy started creep closer to him and Havoc is the only one who notices.

"Excuse me, Mr. Mustang sir. I believe that I never properly introduced myself." The guy caught everyone's attention.

Havoc turned to Hawkeye and bopped his head to Mustang's direction. The two soldiers crept a little closer to eavesdrop on the pending conversation. According to Mustang's expression, he did recognize him, but do not like him.

"My name is Mr. Alec Lyles and I am one of the best music agents in the city. Despite what Ms. Huller said about me, I don't wish to exploit Raymond. I want to help him." Mr. Lyles named a lot of unfamiliar people. Who is Raymond?

"Raymond…?" Mustang was trying to register the name himself.

"Oh, uh, I thought that you two were related," Mr. Lyles took a step back. That's odd to say. Havoc never meet or seen anyone who could resemble Mustang. He looked disorientated; he really thought that Mustang has relatives.

Mustang and Hughes jerked when he said that. Mustang had a grinned at the guy. The guy must have said something he wanted to hear. Flame inhaled and said, "Why yes, Raymond is my little brother."

… What? Mustang doesn't have a little brother. Does he? No, if he did, he would have mentioned Raymond in the office by now. Actually, Hughes and Hawkeye never spoke about Raymond before. Why is Mustang lying to the poor sap? Mr. Lyles did have another question for him, "I can see the resemblance. He looks just like you. Can you tell me why you don't have the same last name as him?"

"That's because we're adopted by different foster mothers, but I do my best to keep in touch with him. With my job, it's been extremely difficult to keep up with all of his recitals." Mustang is so full of it.

It looked like the poor sap ate up every word. Mustang's charm is impressive. Mr. Lyles looked very touched and he replied with, "I'm sorry to hear that. I'm only here, because, as you know, Raymond is an incredible violinist and he is very talented actor as well."

"Really," Hughes was standing right next to Mustang and completely invested in this conversation as everyone else. "But why are you so interested in him?"

Mr. Lyles glanced around the crowded lobby. He must have felt more than one person watching him. He tried to explain himself, "Don't get me wrong, Tempus Theater is great and made a name for themselves in a few short months. However, Raymond is only performing at this one theater and he won't be able to grow in his comfort zone."

Mr. Lyles seemed very passionate about this. This is technically his job. He continued on, "He's extremely gifted; have you heard him play before?"

Mustang sighed deeply and admitted, "No, it's my first time watching him perform in front of an audience. When does he start?"

Mr. Lyles shrugged, "He would start playing at random times before every play in the balcony."

In the corner of Havoc's eye, he saw Hawkeye swiftly turn away and walk into the arena. It is odd for her to wonder away from Mustang like that, she knows something. Hughes had a serious look on his face; he excused himself and followed her. Damn, should he go after them? Remembering Hughes's face, Havoc decided to spy on them, since Mustang keeps drilling Lyles for more information about this Raymond kid.

"There," Hawkeye gestured to the balcony that the clueless agent mentioned.

Havoc tuned to the direction to find those two kids from earlier. That's…. That's a strange coincidence. Somehow, they're roped into all of this. What are they doing? It looked like they were staring at something on the ground and talking about it.

Havoc crept over to Hawkeye and Hughes who were studying those teens every move.

"You think he's up there now?" Hughes silently asked the sniper. Why are they're whispering?

"He has to be. He'll hiding in plain sight," Hawkeye answered back.

"Armstrong can lead lips; we should bring him next time," Hughes replied in a serious tone.

"Good plan; maybe we could casually mention this theater around him," Hawkeye replied still focusing on the unsuspecting kids.

They are going through a lot of trouble to see this one kid. Since when did they become fans of this Raymond kid? Suddenly, the short Xingese girl caught the two soldier's glare and swiftly turned her back on them. Whoa; okay. It also looked like she informed the Ishvalan that he is being watched as well. His expression changed dramatically. That was awkward. That girl is going to be tough to sneak up on.

Havoc could see the shock on their faces. That little girl caught them spying for the second time in a row. Who the hell is she? Well, it was the perfect opportunity to give his questions about all of this. "So, care to explain this sudden interest in a teenage boy other than the Elrics."

The two soldiers turned their stares at him. They could have cut through steel with those eyes. But something was off about them. Hughes didn't go into a frenzy trying to explain about his obsession, which is his specialty and Hawkeye only glanced away little flustered. "You have to see the kid to understand," Hughes calmly explained.

That didn't explain shit. That's the same thing that Mustang said. He sighed at the remark. He hates being left out of the loop like this. Team Mustang shared almost piece of information with each other, if it was confidential or random nonsense. It is the reason why all of them are so close. Now, it's awkward secrets and spying on innocent teenagers for no apparent reason. Whatever it is, is must be big, because Havoc saw those two soldiers who been through war, jump a feet into the air, when music started playing out of nowhere.

* * *

"Where have you been?" Pint-Sized Dad was parenting again. It's hard to take him seriously.

"I had class again, Edward. It's Tuesday." Nick answered very casually. "Do you remember my medicinal alchemy class?"

Yeah, the state alchemist remembers following Nick to the local college last Tuesday to ensure that he is a registered student. Edward was impressed that he was the youngest classmate with the highest grade average in the entire class. Edward nodded and said, "The one with the crazy teacher."

Nick made a face. He said that once and Edward have been repeating it ever since. Even in middle of lecture, in front of everybody. Sara's right. Fullmetal does act just like Dad. Nick asked him, "Is that all you remember from that day?"

"I remember the double chocolate chip muffins from the school's café," the fifteen-year-old answered back. Just like Dad. "Besides, I have another question."

"Alright," Nick was used to that. His questions could be anything at this point.

Edward studied Nick's indifference at the moment. It seems like that everyone else was being secretive about Raymond, but maybe Nick would tell him, "I'm looking for one of Ava's friends. Her advice for finding him was to follow the music, but I can't figure out what that means."

"You haven't heard someone playing the violin all day?" Nick retorted. He obviously knew who he was talking about. "Why do you want to talk to him? He's… sorta…"

He had trouble summarizing Raymond's behavior in a brief description. Raymond is very strange kid. He gave up trying to explain and said, "You'll see when you find him. I'm going to go find Lys; I'm starving. See you later."

Edward was extremely confused with Nick's response. Mainly because he rarely sees him tongue tied before. It didn't matter either way; he knows how to find Raymond. Now, if he was a teenager who plays the violin where you would be?

* * *

Raymond was panicking when he was trapped in the bathroom. If he had went ran backstage or to the balcony, they would have just followed him. He's been in the theater for months now and locking himself in the restroom was the best method for him. Besides, there's a vent in the restroom that could have sneaked away in. Using the vents to sneak around was Ava's idea and it was brilliant. Without her advice, his Mom would have caught him by now.

He recognized the other guy, too. That was Maes Hughes; his parents' close friend and Lys's father. He was in one of Lys's family portraits. The situation became a lot more serious, now that Hughes is here too, with his Dad _and_ his mom. Ugh, why did this have to happen now?

Raymond made his way to the balcony undetected, but he knows that everyone in the theater is waiting for him to play the violin again. In fact, he hears people in the arena talking about him and how talented he is. He did recognize Mr. Lyles's voice down there.

"What's wrong, Raymond?" He heard Mike's voice. He was covering his face with his arm, he didn't even seen see him walk into the balcony. He didn't want to look at him either. He didn't want to admit that he screwed up or look at Mike's naïve face. How is he going to explain what happened to him?

"Nothing; why do you ask?" Raymond asked monotone.

"You're not playing your violin."

"Did Sister tell you about that?"

"And you're on the floor," that's a better reason to be concerned.

Raymond was sprawled out on the floor, because if he sat up or stood up, everyone in the arena would see him. Since he knows that most of Mustang's team is here and looking for him, it's better to stay down.

"I'm hiding," it was the honest truth. Of course, the natural follow-up question would be…

"Who are you hiding from?" Mike had to ask.

"The people from the store. They saw me and I can't let that happen again."

"What does that mean?" Mike never understood riddles.

" _It means we're still being watched_." Hearing Ava's voice made him jump.

Raymond didn't want her to see him sulking on the floor. He didn't care about how Mike saw him. He finally peeked through his arm to see his two friends standing to his side. Ava turned her back towards the arena and was shoveling Mike to reposition himself too. She gestured behind her and said, " _That's the same woman from the corner store_."

Mike peered over her head and said, " _Are you sure about that?"_

" _Don't stare at her! She's already watching us!_ " Ava warned him.

Mike made an uneasy expression when he realized that she was right. He didn't know what to do at that moment, " _Should I wave to them?_ "

" _No!_ " Ava and Raymond was on the same page.

" _Fine, but it will be rude not to. Also, maybe they wouldn't be curious if we weren't talking to someone who's on the floor._ " Mike pointed out.

" _Guys, her name is_ Riza Hawkeye _and she's my mom._ " Raymond explained.

" _We know,_ " Mike stated very quickly.

" _You have her eyes,_ " Ava explained. Raymond knew that.

" _Is there a guy with glasses near her?_ " Raymond had to make sure if Hughes

" _Yeah, you know him?_ ' Mike replied. Ava poked him for looking at into the arena again.

" _That's_ Maes Hughes _; Sister's dad and my Dad's best friend._ "

" _Wait, you mean the dad who died when she was a little girl? That dad?_ " Mike asked. The two friends realized the severity of the situation. Raymond did have a good reason to avoid them. " _We're your Dad and him close?_ "

" _My middle name is Maes_ ," Raymond answered back.

Mike walked around Raymond and took a seat in his chair that he used for performing in front of everyone. From the arena, Mike received a few angry glares and the sound of frustrated guests grumbling about not hearing any music by now. " _Your fans are waiting_ , Raymond. _Are you in any condition to play?_ "

" _I'm fine,_ " Raymond retorted. "Ava, _can you hand me my violin?_ "

" _Sure,_ " Ava lifted an royal blue violin from the corner. She was distracted from the conversation the entire time. She was keeping a close eye on the small crowd that gathered around the agent that Lys hates. He's been to talking to Mr. Mustang and pointing to the balcony for the past few minutes. There's no way of knowing what they could be talking about, but they're both here for the exact same person. They must be talking about Raymond.

A long musical note broke her concentration. It was followed by several swift notes that formed a harmony. Mike shrugged and thought that it wasn't bad, because Raymond was throwing together random notes again.

* * *

After a few minutes of fumbling through musical notes, Raymond looked up again at his friend again. Mike had a weird expression on his face. His eyes were wide like he was surprised, but kept his lips tightly shut. What the hell? His practicing couldn't have been that bad. Although, he was waiting for his talkative friend to start yapping the second he stopped, but it's been ten seconds and he haven't said a word. Raymond grew impatient waiting for feedback and asked, "How was that?"

Mike kept his strange expression as he pointed his finger to the side. The violinist didn't comprehend the message. Mike caught the confused look on Raymond's face and repeatedly gestured his finger to the left. It was weird for him. Does he want him to look in that direction? Is that it? Whatever it was, he's not going to say it.

Taking the extremely subtle advice, Raymond turned to look in the direction that Mike suggested. The only thing he saw was his royal blue violin that was sitting on his shoulder. Raymond relaxed his arms to move it from his view; right behind violin was a pair of black boots and the hems of a bright red coat.

O crap. How did he miss that?

Raymond felt his throat drying up when searched for the unwelcomed guest's face. Fullmetal was staring dead in his face with one eyebrow cocked up as if he was looking at something truly interesting. Maybe at that very moment, Raymond is fascinating.

" _I completely forgot about you,_ " Raymond absentmindedly confessed.

"What?" Fullmetal retorted back.

So, he can't speak Xingese. That's good to know. The teenaged state alchemist didn't look frazzled in his position, unlike the other two teens. He kept his hard stare on the violinist and asked, "What's your name?"

"Raymond," he answered cautiously. He forced himself not to say his last name.

Pretty sure Fullmetal caught the hesitation in his voice. He didn't even ask for him to say his last name. The next phrase out his mouth was, "The bastard wants to see you."

He's the second Elric who told him that and it is very obvious by now. So he said the same thing you said before, "I don't know a Colonel Mustang."

The state alchemist looked surprised and thought over his next set of questions. Mike let out a loud sigh and shook his head. Great, what did he do wrong this time? Did he miss something?

The state alchemist dead locked the violinist's eyes and said, "You don't like your dad, do you?"

The violinist froze. That is something that he would never admit out loud; especially to the Fullmetal Alchemist. It's odd how he was able to pick up on that so quickly. His only response was becoming defensive, "Do you like your dad?"

"This isn't about me," the teen major retorted.

Raymond's mind was racing with probable outcomes if he actually confessed at that very moment. Major Elric continued to earn his trust. He placed his hand on his chest, smiled and stated, "It's okay; you can tell me."

O no, he can't; it was something about his smile. It was more of smirk, a giant smirk on his face that showed all of his teeth. He wanted dirt on Mustang. Michael finally snapped out of his daze and decided to chip into the conversation. He knew from experience that Raymond was done talking.

"To be fair," he sucked in a breath when Fullmetal shifted his glare to him. It is hard not to be intimidated after hearing all of the stories about him. But, he needed to keep their cover, "We are foster kids, so that's a hard topic for us."

Fullmetal huffed at that statement, because he didn't believe it, "Right, your cover story."

Mike was couldn't respond to that. How did the Richards not confess everything to him by now? Because those two really want to, just to get him to leave them alone.

Raymond had to focus. He remembered Eric told him that if Fullmetal corners him, distract him. Eric never told him how to do that or he may have forgot. They're screwed. The teen major went on to say, "That's actually brilliant. No one would suspect or question foster kids. So, does Main House looks like an actual foster home or an apartment?"

Who told him about Main House? It seems like the Richards let some information slip. Raymond answered that, "It's a house and all six Richards used to live there."

Fullmetal froze this time. His brows furrowed and his voice became more serious when he said, "Six? No, there's five; Eric, Sara, Nick, Maya, and Ava."

Mike and Raymond shared a look. They knew exactly who he left out of that list. Somehow, the Richards kept that from him.

"Uh no, you're missing one. It's not surprising that you don't know him. Sara kinda banned him from Tempus and whenever he's near Maya, they get into a huge fight. Sometimes, they use swords." Mike was rambling again. It looked like Fullmetal was hanging on every new piece of information.

"Maya gets into sword fights," Edward repeated those words as he tried to picture her wielding a weapon like that. It was out of her character. But, why would they keep one more Richard away from him? It didn't make any sense.

"But, why would they keep this one a secret?" Fullmetal questions kept coming.

"He's not the easiest guy to get along with and they do call him an ass, a lot." Mike explained.

Fullmetal narrowed his eyes and asked point blank, "what's his name?"

"Vin," Mike bluntly answered.

Fullmetal mouthed that name and turned to storm off the balcony. He really must have forgot about his original intent to learn more about Raymond or decided that finding the last Richard was more important. Either way works. They're good for now.

"Almost forgot," Major Elric muttered to himself. He swiveled around in a second, darted to Raymond and kicked his arm. Raymond jolted in pain and shock and held the spot that he was struck. Fullmetal glared down at him and said, "Get off the floor; we all know you're here."

He took off after that.

Raymond sat up with his mouth hanging open. He can't believe that Edward Elric just kicked him. He looked over to his friend who didn't have a shred of sympathy for him. Mike shrugged and said, "He's right."

"What are you talking about?" Raymond asked a little oblivious. He has no idea what went wrong.

"Fullmetal called your dad a bastard and you didn't flinch," Mike had tone was more serious than usual. What does that have to do with anything?

"Since I'm his kid, I have to defend him?" Raymond asked a sarcastic voice. It was easier when he didn't have to deal with all of this.

"It's part of the job, how do you not know that?" Mike asked in an equally sarcastic tone. He glanced down at the people in the arena and noticed several pairs of eyes still watching him or Raymond. He sighed and said, "You could at least play an actual song for your parents and his friends. They're staring up here at you, really hard."

Raymond didn't seem to be phased by that statement. He didn't even glance down to see if Mike was telling the truth. Raymond simply exhaled and asked, "Which one?"

Mike couldn't think of something to say fast enough; ten retorts came to his head at once. There are way worse things to be concerned about at that moment & he all he could think about is his violin. Mike had to find his voice and finally answered, "I don't know. Play Black Veil; that one was pretty cool."

"Okay," Raymond showed no emotion whatsoever. He turned to find a comfortable seating position, without looking in his parents' direction, and started playing the song. How is he so calm about his? If any of Mike's relatives where here, he'll be having panic attacks.

* * *

"So that's Raymond," Havoc has his arms crossed as he studied the third teenager that was hiding from them. "You were right, Hughes. It all makes sense now."

"I tried to tell you," Hughes shook his head.

"But, that doesn't explain much. What do you know about him?" Havoc curiosity was mounting every second he watched the kid.

Hughes made an awkward sound and shook his head. It's a shame that he couldn't answer that question with a long detailed description. Instead he had short random sentences, "He works here and plays the violin."

"That's it? I could have told you that," Havoc wanted to know everything about him.

"We're working on it," Riza cut into the conversation.

She wanted them to stop talking so she could hear what Mike and Raymond are saying.

* * *

"What's Mustang doing here?!" Lys asked 'the owners' of the theaters.

Sara and Eric stopped to look at her face. Just like they predicted, she is not happy to see the colonel here. Sara talked very carefully, "We're really sorry."

"YOU BROUGHT HIM HERE!" Lys yelled out of sheer panic.

The two Richards raised their hands to calm her and shook their heads. Eric explained, "No, of course not, he must have followed us here."

It's still their fault. This whole mess is their fault. Lys sighed at the two blondes and said, "Does he know about Raymond?"

She needed to know how bad the situation really is. The two Richards hesitated at the same time and shared a look. That means yes. Lys raised her voice again, "But how?!"

"We didn't tell him. He must have figured it out by himself," Sara blurted out. That's something she had to ask Mustang herself. But right now, she had to calm Lys down, "Raymond's not in this play. He doesn't have to be here right now; he could leave if you guys are uncomfortable with this."

Lys jolted at that statement. Raymond is planning on leaving soon. If Mustang or his team haven't seen him yet and are only here for the play, their cover would not be blown. Then she heard the song Black Veil being echoed through the theater, only Raymond knows how to play that on the violin. There goes that possibly.

"Please, please don't let them go to Raymond's play this weekend," Lys pleaded with them, "that would be dangerous."

Eric thought to the play's sells and said, "Don't worry about it. That one is nearly sold out for the whole weekend. It would be hard for all of them to get tickets right now."

Sara had to ask, because she was curious, "Why is it so dangerous? I'm sure that they would love to see Raymond perform."

The two people stopped to see him. They actually had to explain it to her. Eric sighed and started from the beginning, "Do you remember what the play is about?"

There were too many plays to keep track of. The one she was concerned about at that moment was the one that's playing that night. But, she did remember the basics of it, "Raymond plays a kid with weird superpowers. I honestly can't believe that it's so popular."

Eric jumped in after that, "Yes and it is also a play that Raymond gets bullied, beaten up, taken hostage, hunted, have guns pointed and fired at him. I don't think Team Mustang could sit quietly through that."

Lys's heart sank with every word Eric said. To be honest, it was hard for her to watch the play herself. Eric leave out something crucial, she continued on, "Don't forget my least favorite part,"

She ran up to Eric, wrapped her arms him, and said, "When some lady grabs Raymond and squeals, 'My baby boy!' and kisses his cheeks repeatedly and he stands there and grins like he used to it."

Eric used his arms to break her hold on him, because the hug was too tight. Lys was just mad, "No family reunions please."

* * *

When Raymond finally finished his song, the dazzled audience applauded and roared for him. Some people actually started to chant his name, some people started to chant for an encore. Mike looked over to his strange friend and saw that he was staring down ignoring all of the praise he was receiving. He knew that he was only avoiding making unwanted eye contact.

That doesn't mean that he could be rude, "You could at least bow."

"I don't want to," Raymond responded very darkly.

Mike had another thought about this situation. He's been through enough psychology classes in high school to know what's going on here. Mike diagnosed him, "What I think is going on here, is that you're resentment towards your parents is negatively affecting your behavior."

From the corner of his eye, he saw Raymond twitch and immediately stood up to bow with the blue violin still in his hand, but he kept his eyes closed while he did. Suddenly, an unusual voice echoed from backstage. It didn't belong to one of Tempus, but Raymond instantly recognized. "Yes, I'm out of here," Raymond muttered to himself as he rushed off the balcony.

The half-Ishvalan glanced at Team Mustang and one last time before leaving the balcony himself. If he wasn't in this night's play, he would leave the theater too. This is too awkward.

* * *

"Ava," the Xingese girl jumped up when she heard Raymond calling her. That must means that his music buddies are here.

She turned to the armor that kept her company for the past few hours, jumped into his lap, and used her arms to hang from his neck. It was nice that she didn't have to worry about hurting him. She could do that all night, but not now, "I have to leave now, _Daddy._ "

"Huh, but why?" He's actually used to being called that. He didn't even ask what it means.

"I can't leave Raymond alone. I'm sorry, I'll be back tomorrow," She used her high-pitched voice to her advantage. It was working.

"Aw okay," Alphonse couldn't argue with her, but it was too soon for her to leave.

Ava knew the armor is saddened by the unexpected dismissal. She pulled herself up to kiss his metal cheek, "Bye _Daddy_ ; I'll see you tomorrow."

Before the armor respond, Ava jumped down and rushed off the stage. She can move really fast. He tried to follow her to the back office to properly send her off, but she was already gone. Instead he found Amaya staring blankly at the vibrant display of flowers, all that were addressed to her in Xingese.

The idea of her being pursued by an unknown guy is very troubling to the young armor. He didn't know how to approach or address this situation. It was too uncomfortable for the fourteen year old. However, Amaya seemed very troubled and he wanted to help. He asked in a soft voice, "Amaya, are you okay?"

Amaya froze, swiveled around to face the armor. She looked extremely frightened and short of breathe. Usually, people looked at the armor like that, but Amaya and her sister always smiled at him. Alphonse never saw her like that. He was way more cautious now, "What's wrong?"

Maya took a long deep breathe, after that she was able to smile at him. She responded in a serene voice, "I'm okay."

Is she lying? Something doesn't add up. Al really wanted to know what was wrong, "Are you sure? Is there anything that I can do to help?"

Amaya looked at the armor with gratitude. She knew that he could sense something is bothering her, but this is one thing that he cannot know about, at least not now. Maya quickly scooped a pink gift box from the flowers and held it tightly to her chest. Once again, she had to lie, "I'll be fine, but I have to leave too. I just remembered that I have to deliver this gift."

Alphonse glanced down at the brightly colored box. He thought that that was from the secret admirer, but it wasn't addressed to anyone. The gift box was out of place compared to all of the flowers and came out of nowhere. It's a strange thing to lie about, but Al didn't question it, "Okay, come back soon."

"I will," Amaya gave another sweet, innocent smile before heading off in another direction.

Amaya's pounding out of her chest, because that was way too close. She hated lying, but there was no other alternative at the moment. This is one thing that Alphonse shouldn't know about yet. She rushed down the hallway to the back entrance and happened to run into Nick on her way out. He's someone who could understand the situation that she is in.

"Hey Maya, what's up?" Nick was finishing some of the leftover food from catering. He had no idea what he asked.

Amaya took another breathe and replied very agitated, "I'm going to kill my brother."

"Whoa;" Nick was very shocked by that. Amaya knows Amestrian well enough to understand every word she said. He got up from the bench and asked, "For what?"

That's a wonderful question. Amaya held out the pink box and lifted the big pretty bow to open it in his view. Nick's mouth dropped examined a tiny terrified panda backed up as far as the cardboard box would let him. In a few seconds, Nick could guess what happened. There was one thing that they should do first, "Maya, we have to return her."

His cousin quickly nodded, still on adrenaline from the problem, "Yes, that first. Then, we kill him."

It's obvious how furious she is, but they have to go now, "We'll talk about that in the car. Get Xiao out of here and I'll grab the keys."

"Okay, okay," Maya's eyes were extremely wide and had to take a breath in between every word. Vin really did it this time.

Nick had to concentrate through all of the blind panic. The car keys are in Sara's desk that is only few feet away. Maya already took the box out of the theater and away from the Elric's sight. He rushed over to the desk, fumbled around for the keys as fast as he could. The moment he heard a slight jingle, he snatched the keys and bolted towards the exit.

He would have made it out in three seconds if he didn't run into Fullmetal. Like always, he pops up at the worst time. He tried his best to sound casual, "Hey, Edward."

Edward looked at the teen's panicked face and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Nick swears he could sense fear.

"Is there something that you want to tell me?"

"Actually, yes, I have to run some errands with Maya. I'll see you in an hour…or five." Nick's voice cracked when he said the last two words. Nick turned around and bolted towards the door after that. What he's hiding this time must be very important.

* * *

"Are they still here?" Sara whispered to her older brother as he peeked through the red curtain.

In order for them to properly close the theater, everyone must evacuate, but some of the guests are still chatting in the arena, waiting for something to happen. Out of all the guests who had to stick around, it had to be these three; Mustang, Havoc, and Hawkeye. Hughes already left them behind to go to home, but the other three are not budging.

"Why won't they go already? The play finished an hour ago," Sara's patience ran out. How long are they willing to sit there?

Unable to tolerate his little sister's complaining, Eric stepped through the curtain and revealed himself to the remaining audience. He was just as irritated as Sara, however he still used a polite tone, "Hey, we're closed. You can go now."

"We want to go home now," Sara told what he really wanted to say.

"There you are; what took you so long? Why won't you come over?" Mustang's friendly tone was uncomforting. He's talking as if they are friends; they're not.

The two remaining Richards stood their ground. It wasn't a subtle sign that he going to try harder than that. Havoc saw the sign and tried to be more direct, "Alright, cut the crap, who are you?"

The two Richard's made same expression; one that the three soldiers knew too well, because Fullmetal uses it all the time. They were so sick of that question and it was Havoc's second time asking it. Eric spoke up, "We're business owners trying to close our theater."

"Who else could we be?" If they are going to get involved, they should at least admit to that.

Hawkeye had enough of the meaningless chitchat. She was there for one reason. "Where's Raymond?" she demanded out of nowhere. Her determination did give her a quick answer.

"Kitchen,"

"Basement,"

They're answers were too different and that could only mean one thing, "You don't know where he is?" Hawkeye asked out of shock. The lack of information was unsettling to her. Maybe because he looks and sounds just like Mustang and she has no idea where he is right now.

"Hey, it's not our responsibility to keep track of teenagers," one of them tried to explain. The soldiers were still trying to wrap they're minds around losing Little Roy.

Mustang did have a retort when they said that, "Where's Fullmetal?"

"Office," They know where he is.

It's extremely biased and infuriating. Before anyone could say anything to that, another voice interrupted the private conversation, "Raymond's not here."

Everyone recognized that voice. Frustrated with the lack of information, Hawkeye demanded, "Where did he go?"

Mike was a little flustered by the tone, because he almost sounded like his mom, "I don't know; he disappeared into a white van about three hours ago."

He heard both of the Richards groan heavily. He couldn't see them either of them, but he could hear them start to pace around. "Could you have worded that a little bit better, Mike?" Sara asked clearly upset.

* * *

 **A/N: You don't need to see the plays. This story is long enough as is.**

 **That's why I was leaving Mei out of the earlier chapters because that's how I wanted her to be introduced into the story. I also have a plan for how Riza meets & learns the truth about Raymond and what will happens when Hughes recognizes Lys. So, don't worry about that.**

 **About Vin, he's something different. It's hard to explain. I can't wait to start writing him into all of this. He looks just like his Dad and that will completely freak out the Elric Brothers. He's feeling a little left out in this story.**

 **More FMA characters that could be thrown in for the hell of it; Armstrong, Winry, Hohenheim, & maybe some homunculi. But, I need to stick to a plot instead of weaving together a bunch of funny coincidences or I could do both. I've also spent too much time at Tempus. It's time to go to the mysterious Main House where all of the time paradox characters are coming from. Also, there could be EVEN MORE of those time-traveled characters. Just throwing that out there. **

**Again, sorry for the wait or making you think that this story is discontinued. It's not. I swear it's not.**

 _ **A. Leaf**_


	10. Meet the Hullers

**A/N: I personally want to thank Blue Teller for giving me the idea for this chapter. You can find Teller's page long essays in the review section AND I appreciate every word.**

* * *

 **The Richards Ch.10**

Meet the Hullers

* * *

The presence of the Elric Brothers and Mustang drastically changed the carefree and open atmosphere of Tempus. Now, Lysa Huller is more hesitant to leave the security of the employee's lounge and wonder around the lobby to hand out leftovers from catering, instead of dumping it. Or she could have weeded out any talent agents that who came to Tempus to try to steal the performers away. Sara would appreciate that.

But being out in the open, today, would put her at risk of running to her uncle or aunt or her father. It was her choice to stay away from them. It will be too hard for her to look at them in the eye and pretend that everything will be okay.

"Lys!" She heard Sara's voice calling for her.

Lysa grunted as she trailed towards the front. Everything is done and ready for tomorrow. What could she want this late? Everyone in the theater should have left after the play. But she could hear a heated debate coming from the arena. Every feet that she crept closer to the noise, she could hear the debate was about her little brother.

"If you don't know what happened, then how he's safe?"

"I would know if anything happened to Raymond."

"She would tell me."

Lys jerked back when she emerged from the dark stage. The second Lysa revealed herself; she was thrown into the middle of it. Lys stood there dumbfounded while several frustrated people turn to her. "Lys, where's Raymond?" Eddie's voice calmed her down.

"He's probably asleep right now," Lys answered calmly

"There he's fine," Sara retorted towards the anxious crowd. Lys could see Mustang's and Hawkeye's unconvinced faces.

"And who are you?" Hawkeye examined Lysa for the first time. She didn't mean to sound to be vulgar, but she was becoming anxious that Raymond is out of her sight.

Lysa stopped when she looked at her Aunt Riza. She looked extremely different with her long blonde hair. Her demeanor hasn't changed at all. Lys explained herself, "I'm Raymond's older sister and I can assure you he's fine."

"What about him being pulled into a van?" Havoc voice caught her off guard. She did not see him standing next Mustang.

"No one said that," Eddie, no Eric, tried to smooth out the tension in the arena.

"But there was a van," Havoc retorted back.

Lysa used the extra tree seconds to examine her surroundings. Sara and Eric were standing on the stage in front of the velvet curtains while Mustang, Hawkeye and Havoc where standing in front. With the little clues Lys had, the three soldiers think something must have happened to Raymond. That's sweet to worry, but it's also completely unnecessary.

"Look, Raymond left with an acapella group to work on project together. He left right before the play started." Lys saw their faces twist with shock and disappointment. The new information wasn't enough to satisfy them.

"Is he okay? You let him go by himself?" Mustang added in. That wasn't true.

"Actually, he took a friend with him. Also, he called about forty minutes ago to tell me that they're back home and he had fun. Oh and they're ready to perform at any time," Lys turned to Sara address that.

"That's great; they could play all this weekend," Sara was scheduling things in her head. She's a perfectionist.

"Can we focus on Raymond?" One of the soldiers tried to redirect the conversation, but that wasn't a good idea.

"Why?" Sara retorted. The faster she gets this point across, the faster they can all go home, and "Lys said that he is at home sleeping like a baby."

"So you'll take her word for it," Havoc's eyes dashed to Lys and Sara.

"Of course we can," Eric spoke up for her.

Sara gestured a hand towards Lys and said, "She's his legal guardian."

Lys couldn't believe the situation that she is in. Sure, Mustang is obviously curious about Raymond, but she thought that he would have gave up and left by now, or at least for the night. Before, he wouldn't have stepped foot in a theater. Now, he's closing one down to see Raymond again.

The two Richards somehow couldn't convince Mustang and Hawkeye that their son is okay, so they dragged her into the uncomfortable situation. Lysa could tell by the way they are analyzing her that they don't trust her enough to take care of Raymond and the only thing keeping him away from them. The irony is mounting.

"It's late; I should go. I have to take Mike home; he must be exhausted" that was the first excuse that she could think of.

"Alright, see you tomorrow," Eric just gave her the permission to leave. It was all that she needed to hear.

"Hold on a second," Mustang didn't want anyone to leave.

"You three should go too. Don't you have to work tomorrow?" Sara added in.

Lys slipped away from the stage before Mustang could think of a response to that. She was right about that; they shouldn't be preoccupied with them. They have other things to be worried about at this time or probably don't know about it yet.

* * *

Finally, Lysa was back in her home that's hidden from society. It's hard to think about what happened today and sighed heavily. The rest of this "vacation" will not be as carefree and fun anymore. Now, everything she does is being monitored by Mustang and the Elric Brothers. She's used to that kind of attention before, but not like this.

O well, there is nothing she could do about it now. Lysa drove down a narrow remote street and turned into her very strange home. The house had a large circular brick wall built around it and it was too dark to see the garden. She didn't have any energy to admire it anyway.

"It's good to be home," Mike yawned from passenger seat. It's weird that he considers this place his home.

"I know it's been a long day; try to get some sleep, okay?" that comment was directed to herself.

"Okay Mom," Mike responded playfully as he jumped out of the car.

It wasn't a good joke. "I'm not your mom!" she yelled back at him. The teen were already on the porch and letting himself in, before Lys opened her door. Who is she kidding? Those kids have been her responsibility for the past few months.

What about Raymond? She has no idea how he's dealing with all of this. That motivated her to get out of the car, go up the porch stairs and up the next stairway to the second floor. There always feels like there are more every time she climbs them.

This house is so strange. The interior is just white. It's like walking through an asylum. Well, the second cell to the right was the boy's room. There she found Raymond in bed just like she thought. As his big sister, she decided to sit on the side of his bed and gently nudge him awake. "Hi sleepyhead," she greeted the tired boy.

"Hey," Raymond responded in a wary voice. His eyes were only one an inch.

"Are you okay?" Lys asked in a gentle voice.

"Yeah,"

"Do you want to talk about what happened today?"

"No,"

"Do you want to go back to sleep?"

"Please," Raymond begged.

"Fine," Lys didn't want to disturb his sleep. She did lean in to kiss his forehead. Raymond shifted and groaned uncomfortably, but he did grin back at her.

"Thanks Sister," Well, her effort wasn't completely ignored.

Feeling better, Lysa got out of the room and heard snickering from down the hallway. She turned to the direction to find Mike laughing in the doorway of Vin's room. She was curious. What could be so funny? Before Lys could ask, she spotted what he was laughing at. Apparently, someone craved a message in Xingese over Vin's bed.

Uh okay, `so many questions and Vin was nowhere to be found. The first question went to Mike, "What does that mean?"

"It's just his nickname," Mike answered trying not to holding back a grin.

* * *

Waking up in Main has always been extremely awkward for Michael Huller. The Half-Ishvalan sat up and looked around his unfurnished, bland white bedroom; it's too dull and boring. In a subconscious state, he is expecting to wake up in his childhood bedroom. Every morning, he is slightly disappointed when he realizes that he is in fact thirty years in the past and it wasn't a very detailed dream.

Mike's not homesick. To be honest, he needed a little break from his mom. It feels like he's at a summer camp, sort of. This ordeal wouldn't be so bad if he still had his family name and status. Now, he is no different than any other unnamed, broke teenager.

He couldn't say the same thing about his experience. He met and befriended a lot of interesting people and one of those people is his roommate. Raymond was laying the bed next to him; immobilized with wide brown eyes peering through his long bangs. He looked like his just woke up from a nightmare, "What's wrong with you?"

"I was thinking…" Raymond quietly admitted.

He's really not good with words. "About?" Mike pressed for him to continue.

"My parents; they're coming again. Aren't they?"

"Yup, definitely," There was no doubt about that, but there was one thing that he never explained, "Why are you avoiding them?"

Several seconds pasted without an answer. Mike darted his eyes at the teenager who was ignoring him. He appeared to be sleeping peacefully. He was fully conscious a minute ago, he couldn't have fallen asleep that fast.

Then Mike noticed an unwanted figure in the bedroom doorway that explained his behavior. It was Ava in oversized pajamas. Sometimes, she forgets she is only down the hall.

" _Idiot_ ," she greeted him in a monotone. It's not very effective with her voice.

" _Mini Princess,_ " Mike grinned when Ava made a face to that. Ava likes being called, Miss Daggers, but she hates being compared to her big sister.

Usually, she would have retaliated in two seconds. Both of them know that an argument would interfere with her current objective. Ava glanced at Raymond's sleeping face to remind herself that she needs to wake him or he'll miss breakfast again.

Ava sat on the edge of Raymond's best to gently nudge him from his deep slumber. " _He's a heavy sleeper,"_ she uttered to herself. She's already forgotten that she's mad at Mike.

Yeah, sure he is. Mike rolled his eyes and turned his back to the scene. It's been months and she still hasn't realized that he's faking. "Michael?"

Mike swiftly turned around when Ava called him. He was surprised to see Ava sitting on Raymond's back with her legs crossed. And he's _still_ pretending to be sleep. " _Have you seen my brother? I didn't see him walk in yesterday."_

Mike thought back to last night in a few seconds. He didn't see Vin either and he is hard to miss. Mike shook his head, no. " _I didn't see him and if you can't locate him, he's not in this house_."

Ava nodded at the thought. It's not the first time that he Vin didn't come home. But it is the first time that he didn't tell anyone where he is. He's not stupid enough to get himself into trouble.

" _I'm sure he's fine,_ " Raymond finally spoke up.

" _You're up!_ " Ava cheered up. " _We're leaving for Tempus in an hour._ "

Mike groaned at the odd couple. They set themselves up for these jokes, " _Raymond, you're not being crushed right now, are you?"_

" _I'm fine,_ " Raymond said very nonchalant; almost like he doesn't have a girl sitting on his back. Mike couldn't imagine his level of self-control.

" _I know. Will you let me get up, Ava?_ " He flashed a coy smile over his shoulder.

Ava knows he's playing with her. She stood up on his back and stated, " _Hurry up. I don't want to keep everyone waiting."_

* * *

"It's going to be a long day," Raymond moped while he climbed out of the car.

No one else in the car can deny that. Raymond's cover is already blown and Lysa could be next.

"It'll be alright," Lys pinched Raymond's cheek, trying to cheer him up.

He shrugged away from her gesture and headed towards the door. Lysa wouldn't admit to him that she is hesitant about going in there too, but she has to be the adult.

The second the four people entered the theater, they went separated ways. Lysa headed directly to the kitchen to get started baking several quiches for the catering table; then she has to get ready for her own premiere.

* * *

The oven had to preheat for fifteen minutes. Preparing the crust las night save a lot of time. Over a dozen eggs, a gallon of cream, and exactly forty-five minutes in the oven, the quiches are ready. They smelled and looked amazing. Lys took one out one at a time with huge floral oven mittens.

On the last one, Lys noticed a huge suit of armor standing in the kitchen's doorway. She froze and nearly dropped a quiche. She had to remind herself that that is a fourteen-year-old boy. "Hi," she greeted the armor.

"Hi, I didn't mean to scare you," his sweet voice was another good reminder.

"It's okay," Lysa warmly smiled at him and found the place for her pastry, "Did you need something, Al?"

"Um," Al tried to summarize his concern in a few sentences, "there's something wrong with Amaya."

"Huh?" that immediately caught her attention. "What makes you say that?"

"She's been acting strange lately and last night someone destroyed the flowers that were sent for her. Do you think that she is in danger?" Alphonse explained worrisome.

Lysa gasped at those words. She's never caused any trouble to anyone. Who would be after Amaya? Wait, she remembered the note over Vin's bed. Oh, that makes sense, but she still has to explain it to Alphonse.

"Uh, Al," She tried to explain without mentioning a certain Richard, "Someone is trying to get her attention and whatever they did, it's working."

"Do you know who it could be?" Lys could see the anger boiling in his voice. This must be a hard for the boy. He has no idea how to respond to this situation.

"I have no idea," she lied to his face. "I'm sorry if that wasn't helpful."

"No, you've helped a lot, thank you," he's so polite. It's easy to look past his appearance. "And, uh…"

"Yes?"

"Do you know Gracia Hughes?" Alphonse suddenly asked.

Lysa is prepared for this; learning how to act these past few months helped. Her heart dropped and she acted like she never heard that name before in her life. "No, I don't. Is she a friend of yours?"

Alphonse seemed to struggle with his next words. "Yes, it's just that you remind me of her."

"Really; how?" Why did she say that?

"Well, she loves to cook and everyone loves her cooking and she's really nice," Al tried his best to describe her in one dense sentence.

Lysa took it as a compliment, "Thank you, Al."

* * *

Raymond Huller was trying to gather his composure before the play tonight. It is okay. The play is pretty old and he has done it over ten times in the past few months. He has all of the lines and the fight scenes memorized. Today shouldn't have been a big deal, if his parents were not lurking around. The thought of seeing their faces made him nervous.

"Are you done changing yet?" Raymond didn't want to risk turning around to see Mike undressed. It sucked sharing a room.

"I've been done," Mike answered back a little annoyed. He's not used to sharing a private space either. "Are you done yet?"

Raymond faced his roommate to show him his current costume. Mike looked examines it for several seconds and snickered at him. He had to pause to say through gasps, "You look like you belong on a farm."

Raymond picked at his brown overalls he was forced to wear. He didn't know how to respond to that comment, "I'm supposed to be a repair man that lives in a snow globe. I don't know. It doesn't make any sense."

Mike shrugged it off his retort, "Better than the princess costumes."

Raymond shrugged at that memory. He's really grateful that the colonel missed that play. Hold on, this costume had accessories; gloves and googles. Again, this outfit doesn't make any sense, but he had to find them. Raymond's concentration was interrupted by the sound of their dressing room door being slammed open.

"Ava?" Mike was shocked to see her rush through the room.

"Ava," Raymond's head popped up to search his for his female friend.

He found her opening the window and proceeding to leap out of it. " _Go away!"_ she screeched down into the hallway.

"Ava," Raymond scrambled to her and pulled her back into his room. He didn't want her to jump out of a three-story window. Ava struggled in his grip as he made her sit down in his lap. He wanted to know what's wrong with her.

Michael suddenly looked serious as he crouched down next to them and hushed them. "But…" Raymond wanted to say something, but Michael covered his mouth before he could say another word. He also put his index finger up to his mouth to emphasize his point.

The three of them sat in awkward silence on the floor when another voice filled the dense air, "Raymond… I know you're up there. I just saw you."

The alluring voice didn't belong to anyone in the military. The violinist uneasily sighed when he recognized the forced invitation. One drawback of being a celebrated musician is there could be a few fans who are tremendously obsessed with him. The unnamed stalker said in a melody, "Raymond, don't make me come up there."

The last thing he needs is someone threatening him. Raymond couldn't take his threat seriously, but it's too risky to take that chance. Ava and Michael were watching the window as if he would crawl through it at any moment. Ava already had one of her pink daggers ready to strike anything that moves. Michael's strength was all he needed in a fight.

The three teenagers were in a tough spot and didn't know what to do. "Hi there, what are you doing out here all by yourself?" another voice echoed from the alley.

"I was just…" the stalker was completely caught off guard.

Michael instantly turned to the window and crawled towards it, out of view. He instantly recognized the voice. It wasn't Colonel Mustang, but one of his friends. Raymond couldn't remember which one; he didn't know them that well. "You were what?" the second voice pressed on.

"Leaving…" the first voice was outmatched with words alone. The teens could hear the footsteps storming away defeated.

But after that, another equally eerily silence followed. The three of them were under the window sill eager to check on the alley. Raymond held up his hand and signed the number three. He used his hand to count down. At his signal, they peeked into the alley at the same time.

Mike, Raymond, and Ava found at least a handful of military personnel watching the window already. Raymond didn't scan they're faces before he ducked his head again. The other two followed suit. "Hey, you guys can come out now, it's safe now." the voice said in warm, friendly tone.

"Raymond," the boy cringed when he heard his name. He couldn't mistake that voice. It's his dad. His dad is calling him. But, that is not his father, at least not yet.

After a few seconds of waiting, another voice from the alley asked, "Is Little Roy still up there?"

That was the first time that either of them heard that nickname. His friends could tell by Raymond's grunt that he didn't like it. Raymond swiftly turned around and grimaced, " _That's not my name_."

" _Pin him,"_ Mike whispered to Ava.

Without hesitation, Mike revealed himself and blankly said through the window, "Sorry, have to use the restroom."

He firmly closed the window and the shades. That was the lamest he ever thought of.

"The restroom?" Raymond asked sarcastically.

" _Shut up,"_

"FIVE MINUTES!" the teenagers jumped when their manager called for them from the main floor. It was their ticket out of the room.

* * *

Tonight's premiere should be starting soon. Edward Elric had a long day. First, he had to listen to Mustang ramble about Tempus and Raymond, then he spent a few hours trying to find any information about Vin around the theater. The only thing he could find was a couple of discontinued plays that has his name on it. It's enough proof that he exists and Little Roy didn't make him up.

Edward needed to stretch his legs and clear his head. He doesn't know how he is going to find the last Richard. When he stumbled into the connecting room to see a brunette toddler girl floating on a cloud, she reached towards him and called out, "Big brother!"

Fullmetal double blinked to check his eyesight. He realized that the toddler was Lysa wearing a frilly white dress and in full make-up. She smiled at him and said, "Hey Edward, do you like my dress?"

"You look like a three-year-old," Edward grinned back at her.

"Thank you," Lys smiled at the young state alchemist. She could tell that there something on his mind.

"Lys," Edward took an awkward pause, "you used to babysit the Richards?"

"I still do," Lys responded very cheerfully.

Fullmetal let out a hesitant sigh. Her playfulness made it easier for him to ask his next question, "What were they like when they were little?"

Lys was shocked at the request, but she could understand. He's naturally curious. Lys thought back to all of her babysitting sessions and when the Elric kids were still kids. Fullmetal sat down in the chair next to her while she gathered her thoughts.

"They were the cutest kids ever. I wish I had some pictures to prove it," Lys spontaneously went into a gleeful broadcast.

For the first time, Fullmetal wanted to see baby pictures. Lys saw his engrossed face and decided to continue, "Well, Nick used to be extremely shy and quiet. His face would turn red whenever some try to talk."

"Nick?" Edward asked shocked.

"Yeah, I miss that kid." Lys added in. "Eric was the most polite kid you'll ever meet, but he became more assertive when he grew older. Then Sara has been the same way since she was born."

"What do you mean?" Fullmetal wanted her to explain farther.

Lys stared directly into Fullmetal's face. She wanted see his reaction to her next sentence, "Sara always has been a daddy's girl."

Edward didn't know how to respond to that. His face was kept alternating between different expressions until he finally asked, "How so?"

"Well, she admired her father so much that she became him," Lys teased the young alchemist. There's no way of telling what's going through his head right now.

Fullmetal took a few seconds to think about what Lys's statement and responded, "I don't see it."

"You don't?" Lys had to hold back a chuckle, but her goofy grin wasn't discrete enough.

Fullmetal held his stance, "Sara doesn't act like…" He stopped himself from completing that sentence. He forgot that he wasn't talking in a confidential setting.

"I don't see it," Edward repeated it his words again to finish his thought.

"FIVE MINUTES!" The two jumped at the sudden outburst. Coincidences are very funny.

Lys didn't stop her from laughing this time, "You keep telling yourself that, Edward."

The state alchemist didn't respond to that. He just stared at the mysterious woman who treated him like an old friend. Edward was trying to figure out if he knows anyone named Huller or Lysa before, but nothing came to mind. He never forgets a name or a face and it was frustrating that he couldn't figure this out, "Have we met before?"

Ed's frustration was all over his face. Lysa is surprised that he still doesn't know her name yet, "I think you know the answer to that and I have to go." She turned away from the state alchemist and rose from her seat.

Edward already forgot about the fluffy white tutu was wearing; now he could see all of the details and gems that sparkled in the stage light. Edward had to ask, "Why are you wearing that?"

Now, Lys's eyes started to sparkle too and she started to ramble, "Because, I'm a ballerina and Raymond's going to play in the background. It will be your first time seeing me dance and I'm extremely nervous. I haven't danced since college. You have to be in the audience; you and Alphonse."

Lys said all of that in under a minute without taking a breath. She grabbed Edward's wrist and pulled him to his feet. She dragged him to the across the stage and pushed him through the curtain. Edward moaned when he saw all of the unnamed people that flooded the arena. "Why did you send me out here?" Ed looked over his shoulder as he asked.

"Because I want you to find Mustang and his friends and make them watch my performance; hurry! There's less than five minutes!" Lys shooed him off the stage, "Go, Edward!"

The young alchemist slumped and jumped off the stage. _So pushy_ , he thought to himself as he scanned the arena for any sign of Mustang.

Lysa slipped back through the curtain and took a deep breathe to calm herself down. Getting jittery would not help her performance. She was in dances most of her childhood, but this is probably the most important one in her life. The possibly that her father could be in the audience is nerve wrecking.

Aw, Raymond looked so adorable in that . He was staring down when he slowly approached her. "Are you ready?" she asked the troubled teen.

The teen nodded, still dazed.

The woman in white didn't believe that. She tugged on the sides of teen's overalls and bumped her forehead on Raymond's. She smiled warmly at him and hummed, "So handsome."

Raymond did his best not to melt into a big pile of mush, like he did first time she did that, eight years ago. He does go back to the moment every time she does that. He remembers beginning an eight year old, scared half to death performing for the first time. The teenager shifted and groaned awkwardly under her embrace.

"You'll be okay," she reassured him one more time, before she let him go.

"Lys, Ray, positions!" that command was a lot closer this time.

The two separated and marched off to other sides of the stage. There is no way to predict what's going to happen next.

* * *

"Armstrong? What are you doing here?" The Fullmetal Alchemist ran into the Strong Arm Alchemist in one of the most unlikely places.

Armstrong didn't know how to answer that question himself. Everything happened so fast that he barely had time to comprehend it. So he tried to explain to the teenager, "Hughes and Mustang barged into my office and asked for my assistance to find a missing child."

Edward scoffed at the large man in front of him. Armstrong has no idea what he was just dragged into, "Did he describe the missing kid?"

"Uh," Strong Arm hesitated, but continued, "Havoc only described him as a 'Little Roy.' Did you know that Mustang had a younger brother? I had no idea."

A week ago, Mustang didn't know either. Speaking of Mustang, "Mustang always kept him secret for his own protection. It would make a lot more sense if he was here to explain. Where did he ago?"

Armstrong glanced around to try spot him. He stopped at an angle and answered, "He's right there."

Fullmetal turned in that direction immediately found Hughes and Mustang looking extremely disoriented. When Mustang spotted his coat, he stormed towards him and asked, "Fullmetal, did you talk to Raymond?"

"No, I didn't get a chance to" Edward answered slowly, finally remembering the suspicious teen that slipped his mind.

The Flame Alchemist didn't have to vent his frustration. The arena quit down, people were finding their seats, and the arena dimmed. "I've found Little Roy. He's on the stage," Strong Arm turned to face the Flame Alchemist, "and he was staring at you. "

The soldiers stopped to look at the stage to find a teenager slowly walking over to the wall that was decorated with gears. He grabbed one of the gears to the twist a few times. The gears started to chime a song and on the other side of the stage a set of light revealed a giant snow globe. **-1-**

Fullmetal turned his attention to the snow globe. He uttered to himself, "Its Lys."

Lys, that's someone Hughes wanted to meet. He turned his attention from Raymond to the globe. He saw a ballerina inside slowly turning on a pedestal. She slowly positioned a violin and started to play the melody. In the music, Raymond and the ballerina started to form a story.

For the first thirty seconds of the song, Hughes didn't know who to concentrate on. Eventually he caught a glimpse of the ballerina's green eyes and jolted. Something came over him; he was spellbound. Hughes barely paid any attention to the song.

The second was over, the spell broke and the ballerina walked to Raymond. She balanced herself on the teen's shoulder, lifted one leg high in the air, and kissed the violinist's cheek in front of a cheering audience.

Raw emotion surrounded the small crowd of soldiers during the standing ovation. From Edward's peripheral view, he saw Hawkeye charge out of the audience towards them. She guestured her hand to the closed velvet curtain and asked, "Who was that?"

"I'm going to found out," Hughes promised her.

* * *

Nicholas and Sara waited for the curtains to be completely closed to run on stage to congratulate the performers. The stage was already full of people tearing down the scene and setting up for the actual play. She yelled out to them, "You two were amazing, but you have to get off the stage, now."

The two turned to them still daze from the performance. Nick had to explain for them, "Guys, you didn't see the way they stared at you and the only thing between you and them is that curtain."

The red velvet curtain was disturbed it made new ripples across the stage. After that one of the extra's shouted out, "Hey, you can't be back here!"

Another voice yelled out, "I need to talk to the two were just here. Where are they?"

Sara shooed them away, "See, go change for the show. We'll handle this."

"Okay," Lys's voice was very hesitant. Raymond didn't respond to either of them. The two took off into the crowd of moving background scenes and fake furniture.

Nick leaned closer to his older sister. He just realized something that might be a problem for the show, "Um, Sara, if they are going to jump on stage after a ballet; how are they going to react to see Raymond draw blood?"

"Shit," Sara thought of three scenarios in under ten seconds. She had to think of something fast.

"Richards!" the two turned they're attention to a very determined stare, "Where's Lys and Raymond?"

"Changing for the show; they're extremely busy," Nick blurted out.

Sara was thinking of what to do next. Kicking Hughes out would take too long and he could come back with a search warrant. All he wants to do is meet Raymond and Elysia, but he can't disturb the show. "I'm sorry Hughes, but it has to wait after the play?"

"It will only take a minute," Hughes asked for a compromise.

"Trust me, it wouldn't," Sara retorted. "I'll put you in VIP while you wait, you and your party would be in the balcony." She needed everyone in one place to keep an eye on them.

He sighed heavily, that is not what Hughes wanted to hear.

"And you can help yourself to the catering table. Lys made baked four different quiches today." Nick added to the deal.

Hughes's mouth started to water. That sounded it really good. "Fine, I'll get the others."

* * *

Raymond rushed off the stage to avoid any kind of confrontation. He reached his dressing room, but hesitated to go in there after what happened. Instead, Raymond leaned on the bedroom door and let out a deep sigh. He couldn't believe that Mustang is here with reinforcements. Is he trying to corner him?

"Is this about the colonel? Pretty sure he just wants to talk to you," Raymond heard Mike's voice, but he didn't look at him.

"And what am I supposed to say to him?" Raymond retorted. "You've should have seen the way all of them stared at me."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Mike naively asked.

"No, it's not." Raymond took another breathe and stated, "Why should I tell him about his biggest mistake?"

"Mustang probably excited to meet his only son," Mike answered optimistically.

"I can't act like that we are going to be a happy family either," Raymond shot back at him. He really didn't have time to over react to this. He does have an obligation to the theater. Also, he doesn't want to make anyone else mad at him.

Raymond dashed into the room and grabbed his costume out of the armoire without looking at the window. He ran to down the hall to find another private place. "Where are you going?"

Raymond explained over his shoulder, "I'm going to change in Ava's room."

Mike made a face at the teen. How crazy is he? He called after him, "Vin doesn't like it when you're in her room."

"Vin's not here," and neither is Ava. He quickly scanned around the room and shut the door behind him. It was a safe, because this room doesn't have a window. "I'll be quick."

Mike stood guard outside of the door. "If Vin is not here, what's his cat doing here?"

"You didn't see that cat," Raymond didn't believe him.

"I did, it's in the back." Mike said. "Hurry up."

Raymond opened the door to reveal that he was already dressed. "See, I'm done. I'll just wait at the balcony until the play starts."

"That's not a good idea."

"Why?"

"Just look at the stage," Mike vaguely answered.

Raymond took the hint and walked to the railing. "Shit," he muttered to himself when he saw all of the soldiers pacing around the stage looking for him.

* * *

 **A/N: I wanted to this chapter for Elysia (Lys). I realized that she was barely in the story. She is a huge part of Raymond's life and he adores her. And this is the first chapter that they're together in the same room. She watched the Richards and Raymond grew up. She has a reason to be in the pa** **st and she's not there because I said so**

 **I wouldn't call these three "normal" teenagers. I really don't know how to explain without spoiling everything I have planned, but I'll do my best to explain my characters. Raymond was the only one with a broken childhood. Ava's childhood pretty standard. And besides from not knowing his father and Olivier, Mike turned out okay. He has tough skin.**

 **But, Raymond doesn't. He's childhood is going to take a while to explain. (If you haven't pieced together all the clues already) I don't know how much time I should devote to these characters. I may have to do another chapter like this one. I really don't know. I'll have to see.**

 **I know I kind of brushed Vin to the side. That tends to happen in POV chapters, but he'll pop up next chapter. Promise. Also, a lot of other things happened at the same time. I'll have to rewind a little next chapter.**

 **1.) This scene was inspired by Lindsey Stirling-Shatter Me music video.**

 **Hey, Fun Fact - In an OVA, Hughes said that spinach quiche is his favorite.**

 **Anyways, I hope you like this story.** **Tell me what you want to know or see happen next. I could probably work it into the story.**

 _ **A. Leaf**_

 **Thank you**


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